Good Night My Knight!
by Anukis-san
Summary: At the Uchiha Manor some weird things start to stir up when Itachi brings back a boy for Saskue's 17th birthday. Orochimaru is up to something and it's up to Sasuke and Naruto to stop him before it's too late. SasuNaru, please ignore the mistake, AU.
1. Demon?

Er, ok! Some starting notes! This fic wasn't really inspired by anything; I just kinda wanted to write it so I wrote down some ideas and began to throw them together. I'm not sure if I'll end this even. I only just wrote this so, who know? It's up to you guys! Tell me if you think I should continue or not. I'll try my best!

**Summary:** Itachi and Sasuke are princes and rein over a small kingdom. On Sasuke's 17th birthday Itachi is called to help find and get rid of a demon that's been reported around a part of the villiage. But the demons not exsactly what Itachi had in mind, in fact, the demons not really a demon at all! Now, an oblivious Naruto is going to meet Sasuke at the palace. Itachi's hoping Sasuke will... enjoy his present...but will the two really get along? And what happens when Itachi begins to notice Naruto more and more. Sasunaru, one-sided Itanaru.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Naruto.... yet! But just wait! One day... oh, one day... hehehe...

Warnings: bad first chapter, lame attemps at humor, Itachi kinda OOC.. but that'll all change =) (or so we hope)

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

_**Chapter One: Demon?**_

Itachi was fully alert. Alert, but calm. Calm as one could be in a situation like this at least. The village had been reporting a demon in disguise as a blond human boy that was lurking around this area. He had not believed any of the rumors until one of his men disappeared suddenly. Itachi had gathered a team and they were waiting for the demon to show up. They were well hidden and placed so that no matter who saw him first, they'd all be able to attack him quickly and surely. Itachi, though, had yet to see this blond demon.

_'This had better be worth my time...'_ He thought silently.

A few leaves rustled in the tree next to him.

"Stop moving idiot!" Whispered someone in the tree with the other.

Itachi bent lower on his branch to see who it was that was about to give their places away. What he saw peeved him to no end. The idiots were moving! Moving like they had all the good reason in the world to! Itachi hissed as quietly as he could. He was about to call the whole thing off on a count of 'two blundering idiots that probably scared the demon away', but that's when he saw it. A flash of yellow had caught his eye. Itachi turned quickly and came face to face with a boy. He had stunning blue eyes and hair as golden as the sun. The boy, who Itachi assumed was the demon, had a perfectly innocent look on his face as he began to speak.

"What'ca looking at?" The boy asked rather loudly.

Itachi was about to attack him when he lost his footing. Itachi gasped as he felt himself falling. In a very un-Itachi like manner, he braced himself for the fall as he realized it was no use in trying to catch himself so close to the ground.

But the ground never came.

Two arms grabbed his shoulders and pushed him forwards just enough so he landed (ungracefully) on his feet. Itachi was about to look up at the person who had caught him but the voice caught his ears first.

"Whoa there! That was a close one. You people sure are weird. I mean, you've been staring at that same spot for probably about thirty minutes now."

Itachi's eyes slightly widened.

_'This brat knew we were there the whole time?!'_

Itachi brushed himself off and glanced up at the trees to see that the others were almost in just as much shock as Itachi. Itachi cleared his throat and signaled the men to come down, but not attack, not just yet. Itachi made sure all his men were still there before turning back to the blond demon, which hadn't moved an inch and had kept the same quizzical look on his face.

"Who are you?" Itachi asked.

"Naruto! Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto said putting his hands on his hips and grinning rather widely.

"I'm Uchiha Itachi." Itachi said.

"Well, nice to meet you! But you still haven't told me why you were all just sitting there."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. The kid didn't seem like a demon at all.

"Say, have you heard of a demon who was said to be around here some where?" Itachi asked.

"A demon? Ha! Like a real one?! Sweet! Around here? Nope, sure haven't seen one but I tell you, if I did--"

"Hm."

Itachi began to inspect the boy while he rambled on about demons. Apparently Naruto was actually a demon... just... really... obnoxious. But cute... handsome. Very handsome actually. Itachi smirked to himself.

_'He'd be the perfect gift for Sasuke...'_

---

The dark haired boy sat in his room staring out of the stone window. He was drowning in his thoughts. He'd been having strange dreams, dreams of a figure with hair as pure as the sun shine. This enigma seemed to haunt his dreams without fail since the past new moon. Sighing, the boy shook his hair out of his eyes. He was thinking of ways to get his mind off of the mysterious blond when there was a soft knock on his door.

"Prince Sasuke?" Came an old mans voice.

"Yes Hayuki?"

"Master Itachi wishes your presence in his chambers."

Sasuke heaved a sigh and used the ledge of the window to push himself up from the chair he'd been sitting on.

"I'll join him soon."

"Yes sire."

Sasuke grumbled thinking of what Itachi could possibly want from him. It was bad enough his older brother had forgotten his birthday.

'Maybe the idiot finally realized. A bit late though...' Sasuke thought looking out at the half moon settled calmly above the horizon.

Sasuke gazed one last time over the quiet forest and turned to exit. Clicking open the door he turned down the hallway and began the journey to his brother's chambers.

---

"Whoa... this place is huge!" Naruto said going around Itachi's room and touching anything he possibly could.

Itachi flinched as Naruto reached a very large, very _expensive_ vase.

"Wow! I bet this cost a fortune!" Naruto said poking it.

"Almost..." Itachi grumbled.

"Really?!"

"You heard me?" Itachi blinked.

_'I was sure that wasn't more than a whisper... and he's almost twenty feet away... maybe he really is a demon of some sort.'_

Itachi sat expecting Naruto. Maybe he'd underestimated him... he certainly was _different_. Human or not.

_'Just perfect for Sasuke.'_ Itachi thought with a small chuckle.

"What're you laughing at?" Naruto asked with a half scowl as he walked back over to Itachi.

"Nothing Naruto."

"Hey!"

"What?"

"Your brother! You said you wanted me to meet him?"

"Yes..."

"Why?"

Itachi sighed. _'Oh it's my brothers birthday and he's been grumpy lately so I figured a nice looking boy... demon... whatever would be good for him.'_

"Um, because. You're about the same age as him... how old are you anyway?"

"Sixteen!" Naruto said happily.

Itachi nodded, "Yes... Sasuke's seventeen today..."

"Soooo what's he like?" Naruto asked.

"You're rather curious aren't you?"

"So?" Naruto asked, slightly pouting.

Itachi smirked lightly. He was opening his mouth to answer when a knock came from the door.

"Well, you're about to find out Naruto."

---

Erk. I didn't mean to end it there... I really didn't! I just kinda... did... he? I was actually planning on not rushing into the story so quickly either. I was gonna put in more of a background for Naruto... and then tho whole 'is he a demon?' thing went wrong. I really didn't wanna rush it that much... hm... maybe I can work on it and change it a bit one day =D. But oh well... I guess I just can't help it. I like starting things off a.s.a.p! =P... Well um. So. Review will you? Please?

Anukis-san


	2. The First Meeting

Thanks so much to those who reviewed! It really helps me get the chapters up quickly! I wanna say that I'll put up a chapter every week but I might have to take longer. I really like going over my work fifty billion times so hang tight! Also, you'll find out about Naruto soon enough ;). Thanks!

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Naruto.... yet! But just wait! One day... oh, one day... hehehe...

Review Corner:

_**PrinceRyu:** w00t! First one to review! Lol. Sasuke's probably very happy about his present –wink wink-._

_**Shin0:** Thankies! He is cute isn't he x3?_

_**Izumi:** =3 maayyybe..._

_**Kirikouchan:** Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter (I guess it was more of a prologue huh?)_

_**Ghostninja85, Moonsong k'Shallia, Iceheart19, Sumiko, Sisters of Chaos: W/D:** Thank you! =) Here's your update!_

_**Slashergurl:** Hehe, I thought that Naruto popping up out of no where and scarring Itachi would be fun. =3 I've got such a cute picture in my head of what it would look like!_

_**Away-girl:** Thanks! Glad you like the idea. Hehe, I'm sure Sasuke'll find something to do..._

**Recap:**

_"Soooo what's he like?" Naruto asked._

_"You're rather curious aren't you?"_

_"So?" Naruto asked, slightly pouting._

_Itachi smirked lightly. He was opening his mouth to answer when a knock came from the door._

_"Well, you're about to find out Naruto."_

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

_**Chapter Two: The First Meeting**_

Naruto wasn't the sharpest crayon in the crayon box, but he knew when something good was about to happen. When Itachi asked him to accompany him to the palace, Naruto jumped at it. Something had told him to go, so he went. Itachi didn't really state why he wanted Naruto to come to the palace with him, Naruto didn't care actually. Itachi then mentioned his little brother, Sasuke. Something in Naruto's mind sighed as it heard the name. Who was Sasuke? That made Naruto even more eager to reach the palace. He needed to meet him, Sasuke. He had to see what this guy was like.

'_You're about to find out,' _His mind kept repeating Itachi's word at the speed of lightening.

His heart was thumping, what _was_ it about this guy? What was Naruto so... happy for? That's when he saw him. Well, his hand at least. A hand had slipped around the door and was now pushing away the only barrier left to see who he was waiting for. His heart kept racing.

...but unfortunately;

"Master Itachi?"

Naruto nearly fell over. This _wasn't_ a seventeen year old prince. In his stead:

"Yes Hayuki?"

"I have told Prince Sasuke about your request. He should have been here by now, has he arrived?" Hayuki's eyes flickered over to a disappointed Naruto.

"No, he hasn't."

"Perhaps I should go look for him?"

"Please."

Hayuki bowed and exited the room. Itachi sighed when the door was shut and turned to Naruto.

"I'm sorry Naruto. It seems my brother has taken off again."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, his eyes became small, almost slits, "Again?"

He made sure he heard correctly. Itachi's brother took off _again_. Yet he still sent that poor old dude to hobble around for hours for what might have been no reason? Naruto grumbled as he thought this over. Itachi inhaled deeply and let out a slow quiet breath.

"Yes. Again. My brother, used to always bother me, always want to be around me. Until our father died. Our father hated me..." Itachi seemed to begin to pull out old memories as he stared at an old bow and arrow on the wall, "We were out tracking a group of criminals one day; we found their hideout too. I was younger and I didn't know much about these things."

He stopped and glanced over at Naruto. Heaving a sigh he continued,

"In short, our father died protecting me. Sasuke... he blames fathers death on me--"

"Whhaat!?! That's so mean though! You couldn't do anything about it right?"

Itachi shook his head, "I don't mind."

"You should." Naruto huffed.

Itachi gazed over his high collar to look at Naruto. Naruto's eyes were in slits and his arms were crossed as if he were thinking something over. Itachi held back a smirk. He couldn't help thinking about how much the child resembled a fox. Itachi began to move towards the door.

"H-Hey! Where are you going?" He asked jogging to catch up with Itachi as he reached the door.

"I'm going to find my brother. Do you want to come with me?"

Naruto nodded vigorously, "Yeah, yeah! I wanna meet him!"

Itachi's eyebrow raised in amusement at Naruto's vast amount of energy.

"Very well then. Follow me." Itachi said opening the door.

Naruto happily followed.

xxxxx

_'Master Itachi wishes your presence in his chambers...' _Hayuki's voice went through Sasuke's head.

So maybe he should have just listened. He was curious, but his curiosity wasn't so intense that he would actually go to Itachi. He never really listened to his brother anymore. Not since their father died. Ever since then, Sasuke stayed far away from Itachi. He could clearly remember his father's last words to him.

_'Don't be like your brother...'_

At the time, Sasuke didn't understand. He admired Itachi with his whole being. He did everything he could to be more like Itachi. He would follow him around wondering what he was doing. He'd ask his brother to train him so he could learn how to be as strong as him. He'd looked up to him. But that was a long time ago.

xxxxx

_'Brother? You said you'd help me with shrunken practice.'_

_'Forgive me, Sasuke. Not today.'_

xxxxx

_'Brother? What are you doing?'_

_'Training.'_

_'How?'_

_'Sharingan.'_

_'Wow! Will I be able to use those one day too?'_

_'One day.'_

xxxxx

Sometimes Sasuke wished it was back to normal. Sometimes he wished they could be brothers again. But his father's lack of trust in Itachi had transferred to Sasuke after his death. Sasuke would wonder what would happen if he opened up again. Would he die like his father? Probably not. Sasuke new that Itachi was stronger now, that before it really wasn't... his fault.

"Ah, I knew you'd be here." A familiar voice broke Sasuke trance.

Sasuke whipped around.

"Ita--... Who... is that?"

Naruto's POV

This guy was looking at me funny. I mean. Really funny. No ones ever looked at me like that before. I didn't understand it, but I probably looked really funny to him too. I could help but stare. His dark hair and light skin made him look ethereal. He looked a lot like Itachi-san, but he was still different. So different. Something about him made my stomach churn. He was so... beautiful.

"This is Naruto," Itachi said, "Naruto, this is my brother Sasuke."

_'Sasuke...'_

"Why is he here?" Sasuke asked.

"I'll talk to you both about that later. I just think you two should get to know each other at the moment."

Sasuke gave his brother an extremely suspicious look. I didn't know why he didn't trust him so much. It's not like Itachi-san was evil or something... he didn't seem evil at least. He'd been really nice to me and all. But my thoughts halted as the deep black gaze left Itachi-san and landed on me. My heart was jumping. What the hell was this?

Sasuke's POV

He looked like an angel. The ones you see in fairy tales. The ones with blonde hair and blue eyes who are smiling and laughing, usually with children around them. And gorgeous white wings. His wings though, were just my imagination and then sun light that was coming into the courtyard. I couldn't help my let my mask drop for a second as I stared at him, his face was getting pink the more I stared at him. When I caught my mask slipping I decided to break the comfortable stare and smirked.

"He looks stupid." I didn't mean it.

But it was something.

His face dropped from its previous gawking state into a fierce stare.

"You bastard!"

I raised an eyebrow. No one's ever really been able to shout back. It was nice.

"What's wrong, dobe? Never been told that before?"

"Argh! I'll kill him!"

Naruto's POV

I would have killed him too! But Itachi grabbed my collar. So now I sat here, wondering why the hell I had to meet this guy. And what really pissed me off was his stupid smirk! What the hell was so funny! I grumbled under my breath and made sure that he could see I was ticked.

That's when I remember,

"Hey, Itachi. When are you going to tell me why I'm here?" I asked.

He looked down at me with those really cool red eyes.

"Well, since you and my brother get along so well..." Great he was being sarcastic now, "Why not tell you now I guess. I'll be blunt." Great. "You're going to be my brother's..." Why the hell was he blushing? "Um, playmate."

Playmate? I raised an eyebrow.

"That's a bit childish." I said.

Sasuke's POV

This guy really was an idiot! Didn't he understand what my brother was talking about! Argh! How can this guy not see the meaning behind that.

"Itachi... what the hell are you on?" I growled.

Naruto looked over to me, a purely innocent look on his face.

"What's ticking you off? I don't mind so much being a friend I guess. But why'd you call it playmate? It makes us seem like two year olds or something." He didn't know how much he acted like a two year old...

"What's there to do in this old castle anyway?" Naruto asked looking up to Itachi.

Itachi smiled. It was kinda creepy....

"I'm sure you and Sasuke can find _something_ to do."

I didn't miss that perverted look he gave me. Oh god. This was gonna be a long day.

_End Chapter Two_

Heh. So? How's this for now? Please review!

Anukis-san


	3. Playmate

Ack! So many reviews! I am not worthy ;-; Thank you reviewers!!! I love you all!

Disclaimer: Shoo nasty lawyers, shoo...

Warnings: er, the usual I guess. Language.... oh yeah. Before I forget. This story is yaoi, like, boy on boy stuff so if you don't like it: A) read it and flame me and look like a loser for wasting your time, or B) Don't read it. Simple, ne?

Review Corner:

**_gaaraXsasuXnaru FANATIC_**: thankies! I'm glad you like it! Please continue reading!

**_oruchuban Ebichu_**: Thanks! I might throw in a little ItaNaru... just mehbeh :3

**_Cookie6_**: I'll keep writing if all you wonderful people keep reading ;D

**_Kyuubi-chan_**: Wai! Kyuu-chan! I agree, it's kinda hard to find narusasu –nod nod-. xD Sasuke had to insult him! I didn't want him to, you know, drool at his feet and follow him around like a lost puppy, gotta keep 'em IC or else it's not so much fun x3! Thanks for the review!

**_Ghostninja85_**: I'll keep thinking over your ideas! =) I agree about the one-sided Sasuke battle. Naruto's not all that weak and it annoys me when people make him all 'oh—I am weak..' and stuff... er, yeah. :D

**_Tracy-kin_**: :D I've been in hiding! Lol, as I said to Kyuubi-chan, I wanna keep in IC :) but don't worry I wanna get something in here ;x. nihehe! Whoa, I didn't think about the Itachi-san showing Naruto! That might be fun x3

**_Lady of Gryffindor_**: Thank you! :D Here ish your update! Hope you like it!

**_Shin0_**: :D thank you so much!

**_Jadetiger_**: x3 hope you enjoy it!

**_The Sisters of Chaos: W/D_**: :D Thank you! Hope you like this chapter!

**_Candice_**: :D Maybe Itachi can't.. but he is kinda like a king in this story (since Itachi and Sasuke's dad is dead o.o) and even if Itachi can't... I can make him :3 all hail authoress powers...

**_Apple Grace_**: :3 maybe Itachi is good.. maybe evil... but you have to remember that in my story he didn't actually hate his clan and kill everyone so... I'd say he's kinda good. Kinda OOC ;-; eep. Thanks for reviewing!

**_Amakasu Toko_**: :D I plan to continue making it interesting! Thanks for reading!

**_Slashergurl_**: Thank you! lol, it's a great mental picture isn't it?

**_Luna_**: :D okies! Thanks for your review!

**Recap:**

_"What's there to do in this old castle anyway?" Naruto asked looking up to Itachi._

_Itachi smiled. It was kinda creepy...._

_"I'm sure you and Sasuke can find something to do."_

_I didn't miss that perverted look he gave me. Oh god. This was gonna be a long day._

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

**_Chapter Three: Playmate_**

"Hey! Wait up!" Naruto said trying to keep up with Sasuke as he barged up the stairs.

Sasuke kept his fist clenched at the side of his body and stared strait ahead, ignoring Naruto's calls.

"Hey! Bastard! What the hell... is your—ack! Problem!" Naruto said trying not to trip on the narrow stairs.

Sasuke whipped around and glared down at Naruto. When Naruto noticed Sasuke had stopped he looked up, shrinking a little under the fierce gaze. But soon he stood up strait, put his hands on his hips and glared right back at the younger Uchiha.

"So?!" Naruto spat.

The Uchiha didn't reply.

"Argh!" Naruto threw his hands up into the air, "I don't get you at all... you're brother was nicer! He asked me if I needed a place to stay and took me in! Now he just wants us to be friends and... and you're acting like a jackass."

Sasuke grumbled at the word 'friends'.

"You really don't get what he meant by playmate's do you?"

"I figured he meant what playmates means!"

"You're impossible." Sasuke said before starting up the stairs again.

"What!? I'm impossible! You're the one who's acting like he's got a stick up his ass! What else would Itachi mean by--"

WHAM! It hit Naurto like a ton of bricks... which would hurt pretty badly. Naruto had stopped completely on the steps and almost lost sight of Sasuke when he started climbing up the impossibly long flight of stairs.

"Wait! No... Nonono! Itachi didn't mean... uh, _that_ did he? Like um..."

"I'm glad to see you caught on."

Naruto burst out into a nervous laughter, "Haha, haha, he... um, y-you're joking right?"

Sasuke growled and turned to face Naruto as they reached the top of the steps.

"Why would I joke about it?"

"Warped sense of humor maybe?"

Sasuke sighed in anger and began to walk towards a door not far from where the steps had ended. Naruto tagged along since he was told to follow Sasuke. Sasuke though, didn't like the idea of Naruto following him around. So, turning around to face Naruto with yet another death glare, he snarled.

"Stop.Following.Me."

"Itachi told me to."

"Well now I'm telling you to go do something else."

Naruto was quite, then grinned evilly.

"I don't have to listen to you." He said crossing his arms.

"What makes you sure?"

"You don't own me."

Sasuke started walking towards Naruto, who at this moment was a little scared of the Uchiha's cold stare. Naruto started backing up and felt his stomach turn to ice as his back hit the stone wall behind him. Sasuke was now only six inches away from Naruto. Naruto glared up at Sasuke with all his might, but he still felt really scared of what the raven haired boy was about to do. Sasuke raised his hand like he was about to strike Naruto. The blonde shut his eyes tight on a reflex and awaited the blow. But instead his eyes flew open when he felt Sasuke hand caressing the side of his cheek. Sasuke leaned in to whisper in Naruto's ear.

"Now I do..."

Naruto shivered as Sasuke's warm breath spilt over his ear and down his neck. Sasuke pulled away and quickly walked into his room before Naruto could follow him. Naruto heard a certain click showing that the Uchiha had locked the door. 

"What the hell is your problem!!" Naruto yelled before storming down the stairs once again.

xxxxx

When Naruto finally reached the bottom of the stairs, he was so busy grumbling to himself that he didn't even noticed when he almost ran into Itachi. Itachi quirked an eye brow as Naruto passed by him mumbling about a 'bastard'. Itachi sighed,

"Naruto-kun," Itachi smirked in amusement when Naruto jumped into the air.

"Ah! Itachi-san, I didn't see you there." Naruto said putting his hands behind his head and smiling.

"Hn. How are you and my brother getting along?"

Naruto laughed a little, "Uh... would you believe me if I said 'great'?"

Itachi smirked a little and looked down on the fox-like child.

"I guess you aren't getting along too well then, hm?"

"Not really. You're brother is... just so," Naruto grinned his teeth in annoyance, "difficult."

Itachi raised an eyebrow, "How so?"

"Well, for one, he doesn't seem to like me at all and then he constantly acts like I'm not there or something... and he," Naruto was about to mention the little, 'you don't own me' thing but he decided better.

Itachi waited a bit before talking to make sure Naruto was done.

"Well Naruto-kun, you just have to give him time. Sasuke has never been very social."

"Hm."

There was a comfortable silence before Naruto looked up with a big smile at Itachi, "Thanks Itachi-san! I'll remember that!"

Itachi nodded as Naruto began to walk away to explore the castle (and hopefully not get lost...).

_End Chapter Three_

Erm, this chapter is kinda short but it was a quick update so, yeah! But I'm gonna need some ideas guys, so if you have a suggestion feel free to ask (email or review I don't care). My email is in my profile if you want to email me then go ahead :D. I'll try and have chapter four up a.s.a.p.! I'm trying to get an actual plot line settled x). Please review! It helps a lot! Ciao!

Anukissan


	4. What's Cooking?

Waii! You people spoil me! :D Thank you all you wonderful reviewers!!

Disclaimer: xp stop rubbing it in! I know I don't own it..argh ;-; (Ha! But I _do_ own the old butler dude Hayuki! So there! :D)

Pairings: Narusasunaru, itanaru, irukaka (more to come)

Warnings: er, the usual I guess. Language.... weird scenarios... yeh. :D

Review Corner:

**_Kei_**: Thanks for the review! :D I know if was short, I'll try to make this chapter long okies?

**_Oruchuban Ebichu_**: I speak French! ... well... sorta. I dunno what an oubliette is though. :D I'm glad you liked that chapter. I wanted a little bit of Sasu-chan's evil smexyness to show. I'm not exactly sure if I'm gonna have Naruto be able to transform or anything... but we'll see...

**_Izumi: _**-has been kissed- oO;... :D thanks

**_Gi wo mite sezaru wa ya n:_** lol, :3 Naruto ish teh lucky. Btw, does your name have a meaning? :) I thought it was interesting but I couldn't tell if it had a meaning behind it or something.

**_Cookie6_**: ;D Sasu-chan is difficult like that. Thanks for your review :)

**_Chels-Dawg_**: wai! What a good idea! I hope you wouldn't mind if I maybe used that? I'll put your name as credit ;)

**_Lady of Gryffindor_**: He's just too kawaii and innocent isn't he?

**_Kirin Kage the Shadow Girl_**: Thanks for your review!

**_Ghostninja85_**: I'm sorry! I'll try to make this chapter longer cuz I know the last one was kinda short. :D glad you like meh story.

**_Letta_**: yay! Someone thinks I'm funny x3! Thanks a lot for reviewing!

**_Pupet Master_**: Wow! Too people think I'm funny! hehe, glad your enjoying it! Here's the update.

**_Tracy-kin_**: I read your story! Teh fluffy was trés enjoyable! :) A slap mark, ne? That could be arranged nihehe...

**Recap:**

_"Well Naruto-kun, you just have to give him time. Sasuke has never been very social."_

_"Hm."_

_There was a comfortable silence before Naruto looked up with a big smile at Itachi, "Thanks Itachi-san! I'll remember that!"_

_Itachi nodded as Naruto began to walk away to explore the castle (and hopefully not get lost...)._

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

**_Chapter Four: What's cooking?_**

The stone walls felt icy cold against Naruto's warm finger tips. Naruto glanced around the halls, admiring the paintings and tapestries on the walls. It was darker in this hallway. Maybe because of the lack of windows. Maybe he was reaching the center of the castle? Naruto didn't care that he'd forgotten how he got here. He just wanted to wander. His mind was thinking over so many things, but all the things he thought of could fit under one name: Sasuke. His skin still stung where Sasuke's breath had been. What was it about the younger Uchiha that made Naruto so...

Naruto inhaled and a scent caught his attention and pulled him away from his thoughts. What was that smell? Naruto began sniffing the air like a curious animal. He let his nose follow him until he reached two strange looking doors. The doors were larger than the other ones, but these had round windows on them. Naruto stood on his toes and tried to look through but failed. He caught a glimpse of the inside but not enough to tell what it was. He thought that it might be a kitchen since all the wonderful smells were pouring from this room, but he couldn't be certain. He put his ear to the door attempting to hear any noises coming from the room.

Naruto listened with all his might and finally heard a faint sound of a man's voice. Leaning closer to the door he strained his ears to hear even the slightest of sounds over the soft sizzling of things being cooked. He was leaning on the door but it wasn't moving. Probably locked or something. But the doors looked like they would swing so why was it...

He then felt something pushing back on the other side. Someone trying to get through? Naruto blushed in embarrassment as he quickly moved away from the door. He was thinking that maybe someone needed to get through...

He was wrong.

Two figures suddenly fell through the swinging door. Naruto watched the whole scene with wide eyes. The two heads of brown and white fell on the ground with a thud. Both looked dazed and confused but after looking up they realized where they were. Naruto, being naive, didn't even pay attention to their wrinkled clothes, disarrayed hair or haggard breath... but he did notice the blush that spread across they're face as they spotted Naruto.

"A-a-ano... gomen! I felt someone pressing on the door and I thought someone was trying to get through--" Naruto said with a nervous laugh.

He placed his hands behind his head and gave them a fox-like grin as he watched them stand up and compose themselves.

"Haha, no trouble..." The one with brown hair said scratching his nose.

The one with silver hair gave Naruto what he assumed to be a smile as well but Naruto wasn't certain due to mask he'd pulled up over his face before Naruto could see and the eye patch that was covering his left eye. He wore a green sweater and black pants. The one with brown hair had a scar across the bridge of his nose and wore a black top with khaki bottoms. Naruto smiled back.

"Heh, so.. uh, this the kitchen?" He asked trying to find a way to break the silence.

"Sure is. And you're looking at the two best chefs in this whole kingdom." The brown haired one said with a wink.

"Wow! Really?"

The brunette gave a nod and a smile.

"I'm Iruka, this is Kakashi. We prepare dinner for Uchiha-san and Sasuke-kun." The one with brown hair said as he held out his hand to Naruto.

Naruto shook it, "I'm Naruto! Uzumaki Naruto! Itachi-san let me stay here with him and that basta—uh, Sasuke."

Kakashi looked at him, "Oh? It's rare for Itachi to take someone in so quickly."

Naruto grinned. He guessed that it was a good thing Itachi had trusted him and took him in. Of course... when Naruto thought about the reason _why_ it was a little different.

"Ma, I guess Itachi knows best." Kakashi said, his eye curving into a crescent moon once again.

There was a comfortable silence between the three as they grinned at each other. Something felt familiar to Naruto about them....

"Well Naruto, we'll see you at dinner... we've got to finish preparing the meal now."

Naruto nodded, "Sure! Nice to meet you guys!"

They smiled and headed back into the kitchen. Naruto gave a small wave before the door shut. He let his hands drop to his sides but he still had a small smile on his face as he thought of them. They seemed nice. Really nice. Kinda like older brothers...

Naruto's smile turned slightly sour as he thought about the family he never had.

'_Monster! I don't want you in this house!'_

Naruto shook his head and quickly pushed out the invading memories.

_Baka... you told your self you'd never think of them again_. He thought silently.

Sighing, he quickly turned on his heal and continued to explore the hallways.

Gaara sighed as he finished dusting the mantle piece. He hadn't dusted in the living room for a week and the dust had pilled up considerably high. The two Uchiha's rarely visited the living room any more. Itachi was always on the go now and Sasuke preferred his own room over any room in the house. Moving a small clock back to it's place Gaara stepped down from the small ladder he'd been using. He faced the exit but was stopped before he reached the door by a head of pink.

"Gaara! There you are! Done yet?" Asked the girl by the door with a smile.

"Yeah... just finished." He said.

"Great! Are you gonna head home then?"

He nodded.

"Okay well, Itachi wanted me to tell you that before you go you'll have to go to him for your paycheck. He didn't want to leave it laying around like usual. I think it's because there's someone new in the castle or something..."

"Really..."

The girl nodded, "Yep! I heard from Ino that he's pretty cute! She saw him when he came in."

Gaara's eyebrows slightly rose.

"Hn. Well... did Itachi say where I could find him?"

"The new guy?"

Gaara was tempted to roll his eyes, "No. Itachi."

"Oh gomen, he said he'd be in the courtyard for a while, try there." Sakura said grinning.

"Thanks Sakura, see you later."

"No problem, see you tomorrow!"

Sakura smiled before quickly heading down the hall. Gaara gave a small smile as he stored away the ladder.

_Someone new, huh?_

Sasuke growled as he looked down out of his window. Why the hell'd he do that?

_Well, besides the fact he looked too damn cute and fuckable..._

Sasuke gave a grunt and cut his thoughts off before they wandered any father. He didn't need a 'playmate'. He didn't _want_ a fucking _toy_. He was perfectly happy with his solitude. His room was in the tallest tower for a reason. To keep people out. Not many people enjoyed hiking up the stairs to Sasuke's room. Hayuki did it occasionally which surprised Sasuke. Usually if he was needed someone would use the small contraption that was made out of a pipe that went up to Sasuke's room from the main level and the levels above and below that one.

Sasuke gave another weary sigh and gazed out the window one last time before turning away and opening his door to go down stairs.

It'd be time for dinner soon... and Sasuke didn't want the dobe to miss it.

_Anukis's Blah:_

Hmmm... why did Sasuke not want Naruto to miss dinner? ... good question...

Ermfg... I had such a bad stump at the beginning of this chapter. I wasn't sure exactly how to write it so I just started to type and it came out pretty good.

**Thanks to Chels-Dawg** for the idea of adding Gaara! I wouldn't have thought about him if she hadn't brought him up! :D

I'm trying to get most of the important characters into the story (you know, cuz I'm trying to make it stick to the story line and therefore need some more characters than the few I've put in there).

Whee... this chapter is a little bit longer... x( I just suck at making really long chapters! So, review anyway please! (if I get ten more reviews then I'll have broken the record for the most reviews I've ever gotten! (58... sad ya but...) Review please!!)

Anukis

P.S.: I'm really sorry for any grammer mistakes or spelling errors in here but I don't have any time to check over it real well (gotta get to bed) so sorry! : D forgive me!


	5. Hallway Fears and Candlelight Greetings

Eeee! I'm so sorry for not updating for like... a long time. But anyway, here's the fifth chapter! I can't believe how many of you reviewed for the fourth one! :D Thanks!! Oh but, incase you were wondering about the huge no-updating period, it wasn't because I'm lazy or anything –eyes shift- um... It's just that I started school again and high school is really weird. I just always get home and either have to do home work, need to chill out or party oO;. Not to mention marching band has been keeping me EXTRA busy. One day I had to stay at school for fifteen hours (7AM – 10:30PM). It sucked.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Naruto! But I do own the idea for the butler (Hayuki) so there :p

Pairings: Narusasu, itanaru, irukaka, um... probably more if I feel like it

Warnings: um. Language? And more stuff... mehbeh.

Review Corner:

**_Kin Uchiha_**: xD oh yes. He will come to realize this soon... but in the mean time I'll have fun watching you all squirm under the sexual tension... Mwahahaha...

**_Kirin Kage the Shadow Girl_**: Well yes, that was a bit OOC but if you've read the manga up to chapter uh... well I can't remember but if you've read the entire manga up to where it is now (229 I think) then you can see that Gaara is slowly starting to open up... just a little. I don't know. :D I think he'll get better with time.

**_Tracy-kin_**: lol thanks for reviewing my story! Hehe x) I'm gonna try and get some more people from Naruto in here soon but it might not be until later that you see them because of... oh wait :x almost gave something away there x3. I'm working on the Itanaru :3 oh yes... don't worry about that. Maybe Sasuke wants to do both? Hehe.

**_Orochuban Ebichu_**: Meep—is flying-tackle-glomped. Wow, that is evil! The whole oubliettes thingy.... x3 nice. Lol :D

**_Kuroi Hikari_**: x3 lol, maybe I will. Poor Sasu-chan will be trying to protect his Naruto from all sorts of people, ne?

**_Gi wo mite sezaru wa ya n_**: Oooh I see!! .... –is lying- hahahaa... ha... xD just kidding. Thank you for reviewing :3 (and keep your promise x3)

**_I gaara_**: x3 hehe hope you don't mind me saying, but your name reminds me of that movie "I Robot" or whatever. xD I can just imagine thousand of robot Gaara's running a muck... lol. Have you seen that movie? It was ok... just watch it and then imagine thousands of Gaara's. x3 Lol thanks a lot!

**_Yaoilover S_**: xD I hope so too! Lol! Thanks for the review. I may add Neji but he'll have to come later... –puts on an evil 'I-know-something-you-don't-know-cuz-I'm-the-authoress grin- Mwahahaha...

**_Moonsong k'Shallia_**: lol don't feel guilty... I just took a huge break so now my 'update every other day' pattern has been broken x3. Hehe snogging eh x) hehehe.

**_Kyuubi-kun_**: :D You changed your name! Lol, it was weird when I noticed cuz I was actually thinking about taking the –san off of my name o.o... I might still :). xD yes, maybe Kakashi being a cook isn't the most brilliant thing in the world but it works x)

**_Chels-Dawg_**: :D hehe. Thanks again!

**_Kali Swifteye_**: Procrastinating is fun :D! Lol, just kidding :) I didn't mean to take a huge break like that but with school starting it's weird.

**_Megaotaku_**: Um, I think I know what you're talking about :D and I'll do that now so I won't forget. And yes, the itanaru _is_ one side x3

**_Letta_**: Yay for giggling and unable to wait for more! Lol. Thanks for reviewing!

**_Yuen-chan_**: That's ok :D you still reviewed either way! Thank youz :3

**_AragornsPixie_**: Lol I'm sure they'll enjoy those! I gave Sasu-chan his but I'm saving Naruto's until his birthday (October 10th) hehe. Arghh I can't wait until Monday!!! We can finally finish my Lenne costume –pumps fist into air- HOHO x3!!!!

**_Kitty Meow_**: xD oh yes, Gaara in a French Maid costume! That would make my day--no... year x3.

**_MC-88_**: Thank youz!

**_Kamikakushi_**: :D that's a good thing!.. right? :3 Thanks for reviewing!

**_WindDragon0131_**: Thanks for reviewing!! Sorry about the long wait.

Argh, I'm not gonna be able to reply to all the reviews. Sorry but there's just a lot so next time I'll probably just do a few or something...

**Recap**:

_Sasuke gave another weary sigh and gazed out the window one last time before turning away and opening his door to go down stairs._

_It'd be time for dinner soon... and Sasuke didn't want the dobe to miss it._

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

**_Chapter Five: Hallway Fears and Candlelight Greetings_**

Fucking hell! Naruto had sworn he'd seen this hall before!

'_Shit! I'm lost!_' Naruto began to panic.

His steady walk became a slight jog. He wanted to find someone to lead him out of here. Where the hell was Sasuke when Naruto needed him, ne? Naruto rounded another corner. He had _just_ been down that hall.

'_Well, maybe if I go down it _again_ then I can backtrack and find the main hall again! Alright! Let's try!_' And so, he started down the same hallway he'd just gone through for the fifth time.

Naruto was oblivious to the complete circle he was leading himself back into when he noticed it'd had been getting slightly darker every second. He started to panic.

"Aaahhh... this isn't good! I don't like the dark at all... and this place is just too creepy!" Naruto said aloud to himself while shifting his eyes around the darkening hallway.

The shadows began to look like they were moving. And Naruto began to panic more. He'd catch himself jumping at the slightest thing, his pace quickened, then slowed down with fear. He started to shiver, it was scary. It was very scary. And he wanted out. A painting looked down at him with a menacing glare and when he heard something behind him, he took off running. He didn't know where he was going, but anyplace was better than here. Naruto shut his eyes and ran faster when he heard another sound. He was running so fast that the window he'd just flew by swung open and the gust of wind knocked a painting off the wall right beside Naruto and scared him silly. He let out the most ear-piercing scream known to man, and then tripped over the same painting that had fell. Feeling himself hit the cold ground he began his shivering again. He bolted to sit up and looked franticly around the hall. That's when he saw what he'd tripped over, and why the painting fell.

'_It was just the wind... just the wind. Nothing to be afraid of.'_ He told himself trying to calm down.

Naruto was picking himself up when he saw a light from the corner of his eye. He quickly jerked his head in the direction of the light and his eyes went wide with slight fear, trying to see what was coming around the next hall. Candlelight? He began to cautiously walk towards the light. It was coming from around the next corner. Naruto breathed in deeply, but silently. Footsteps could be heard, with each footstep the light bobbed, someone was around the corner. Naruto quickly took a chance and rounded the corner.

"Sasuke!?" He half-yelled jumping out from around the corner.

Dark sunglasses caught his eye. This wasn't Sasuke.

xoxoxoxoxo

Itachi hummed a bit and was about to turn the page in his book when he heard a soft crunch of grass. He looked up to see Gaara entering the courtyard.

"There you are. I was about to leave, it's almost time for dinner you know."

Gaara muttered an apology. He never did like talking with Itachi much. He just never seemed to trust him. Itachi didn't seem to mind Gaara's lack of communication, he preferred it actually. It was better than Ino who seemed to follow him around like a lost puppy. Itachi pulled out Gaara's payment from where it rest in his book and held it out for Gaara to take.

"I'm assuming you haven't seen my brother have you? I tried to tell him it'd be time for dinner soon but I don't think he was in his room."

Gaara shook his head and gently took the paper in Itachi's hand and shoved it into his pocket.

"Oh well, you're dismissed." Itachi sighed.

Gaara nodded and quickly turned to leave. Itachi watched with curious eyes as Gaara left the courtyard. He seemed more distracted than usual.

xoxoxoxoxo

The figure in front of Naruto was silent. His hands were in the pockets of his white coat and he seemed to look like an enigma behind his tall collar and spiky hair. He was silent a bit longer as Naruto looked at him, a slightly surprised look on his face.

'_Well, I should have known there were more people here...'_ Naruto thought fuming a bit at his stupidity.

"Who are you?" The boy asked.

"I'm Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto! Itachi-kun brought me here, earlier and I kinda got, lost. Um, sorry for thinking you were Sasuke I just wasn't really... paying... attention?" Naruto wasn't sure if the boy was listening anymore, with a slightly annoyed face Naruto shot back, "Who are you?"

The boys turned his gaze back towards Naruto, or so he assumed.

"I'm Shino, the night guard." He said dully, "I heard something, you, running around the halls and decided to check it out."

"Oh, uh... I see, Um, sorry about that." Naruto slightly dug his heal into the ground, "Say, Shino. Do ya think you could help me out of this maze?"

Shino nodded and began silently to walk in the direction Naruto had just been running from. Naruto followed closely behind Shino, trying not to lose sight of the dark boy. Naruto felt incredibly better now that someone else, who actually knew where they were going, was with him. Shino had been silent for most of the trek towards freedom from the hallways. He was busy thinking to himself or something... Naruto figured he should just stay silent until Shino spoke up.

Rounding another corner and taking his hand out of his pocket to glace at his watch Shino spoke, "Dinner will be served soon, I'll just take you strait to the dinning room if you don't mind."

Naruto vigorously shook his head, "Not at all! Lead the way."

Shino turned to his left at the next corner. Naruto sighed with relief as he began to recognize more and more around him. There was the painting of what he assumed was Itachi and Sasuke's father. Then that creepy suit of armor that he almost tipped over when he was near the kitchen, and then the kitchen doors themselves. Shino turned into the kitchen and a wonderful aroma poured from the room. In the kitchen, Naruto was able to get a better look at Shino, he looked like he preferred the night, his skin was pale and his hair was dark. Naruto thought he saw a spider crawling on the side of Shino's face but when Naruto did a double take, there was nothing there. Shino was kind of intimidating to Naruto, but Naruto soon found himself getting used to the dark presence leading him through the bright, hot kitchen. Naruto rubbed his eyes as sweat dripped from his forehead onto brow. It was hot in here... they were cooking up a whole _feast_ it seemed like.

"Ah! Naruto! Shino! What are you two doing here?" Came a familiar voice.

Shino turned to the voice, "Taking a short cut. Hope you don't mind, Iruka."

Iruka smiled and placed his hands on his hips when he stopped not but three feet from them.

"Not at all. You'd better hurry though, Naruto, if you're going to dinner. Kakashi's taking out the first course soon."

"First course?"

"Yep. The first of seven."

Naruto's eyes widened.

"SEVEN!!! WOOHOO!! I'm in paradise!!" Naruto began to gallop off towards what he assumed was the dinning room.

Iruka laughed next to a silence Shino.

"I hope he doesn't hurt him self on the swinging do--"

A thump and a string of cusses interrupted him.

xoxoxoxoxo

Sasuke had given up looking for Naruto and figured he'd just go ahead to the kitchen, maybe the dobe had used his nose and caught the smell or something. Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets and turned on his heal to head back. He was half way there when he saw Itachi walking in the same direction. Itachi felt someone's eyes on him and turned to see who it was,

"Sasuke! There you are, I was worried that you'd forgotten about dinner."

Sasuke was silent for a moment. Itachi had stopped walking but resumed his pace as Sasuke reached his side.

"You seem happy." Sasuke said monotonously.

"Actually I'm not. Shikamaru has been slacking off again."

"That's nothing unusual."

"No, I suppose not."

"Then why the cheery attitude?"

"Hm... maybe Naruto's cheery aura is just spreading, don't you think?"

Itachi didn't miss the twitch of Sasuke's eyebrow when Naruto's name was mentioned. Smiling to himself, Itachi stayed quite for the rest of the short trip to the dinning hall.

End of Chapter Five:

Erm. Yeh. I can't really think of anything else to write for now so I think I'm just going to go post this. Again, I'm uber-sorry about not updating in forever but right now I just wanna go play SSX3 so um, yes. Oh, but before I forget, I'll try to start writing updates about my stories (when I think I'll get the next chapter up or if I need new ideas, etc.) on my blog! You can go to here: or if the link doesn't work go to my profile and you can find a link there, if _that_ doesn't work do a yahoo search for "Within the Mind of a Lunatic" and you should find it. I'll see you guys later! Review please :3!

Love Anukis

PS. When talking about food, is it a course or a cours or what??? oO;


	6. Garden Tour

Argh... I'm so mad at myself. I wanted to not be like a lot of other people on here and not update for a century cuz I know that that's the most annoying thing in the world for an author to do but it's hard . ! I've got so much going on and stuff... –sigh- gomen. I'll try to update quicker but I can't promise anything.

Disclaimer: same as last chapters

Pairings: ditto

Warnings: Erm, language, the usual guyxguy warning... yeah

Review Corner:

Forgive me but I'm too lazy to thank each one of you individually :). Thank you soooo much, though, to all of those who reviewed! I did read each and every one of them and I love you all!! I can't believe I have _eighty-nine_!!!! ARIGATO! Please continue to review!

**Recap**:

_"Hm... maybe Naruto's cheery aura is just spreading, don't you think?"_

_Itachi didn't miss the twitch of Sasuke's eyebrow when Naruto's name was mentioned. Smiling to himself, Itachi stayed quite for the rest of the short trip to the dinning hall._

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

**_Chapter Six: Garden Tour_**

When Itachi and Sasuke reached the dinning room Kakashi had already served the first course. And there, with out fail, sat a blonde head chowing down almost the whole course in one gulp. Sasuke sat down across from Naruto and Itachi sat at the head of the table. Itachi had a smile on his face that Sasuke knew all too well.

"So Naruto-kun? How is the meal?"

Naruto looked up, his cheeks puffed out from all the food shoved into them, and he grinned as big as he could.

"Issh-shuffs gud!" (A/N: Naruto translation- This stuff's good!)

Itachi sweatdropped but still wore the same smile, "I'm glad to see you like it... Sasuke, you seem to be eating slowly. Is something the matter?"

Sasuke sat there with his eyes closed, a vein popping out on his forehead. He stopped eating for a minute too look up at his brother with a glare.

"No." Sasuke spat.

"Ah, well then. You'd better hurry up with your salad... Naruto is already ready for the second course..." **1**

xoxoxox

After dinner Itachi had invited Naruto to go with him on a tour of the castle. Naruto gladly agreed to go since he figured Sasuke wouldn't give him a tour. And this way he wouldn't get lost as easily. It was dark outside when Itachi showed Naruto outside to the main garden.

The main garden had many different flowers and trees and was lit up faintly, giving the garden a mysterious fairy tale atmosphere. Naruto was, at the moment, fascinated by a Weeping Willow. That's when Itachi decided it was his turn. He walked up next to Naruto and gently tapped him on the shoulder. Naruto turned around and looked up at Itachi.

"What is it?? Ita..chi?"

Naruto was uncomfortable under Itachi's dark gaze. It was always hard for Naruto to tell what Itachi was feeling, especially since Itachi's usual attire covered up half his face.

Itachi stared down at Naruto for a few more seconds before turning to go sit on a stone bench next to the Weeping Willow. He looked over to Naruto and motioned for Naruto to sit next to him. Naruto quickly complied and sat a few feet from Itachi. The two sat in silence for a few moments before Itachi spoke.

"Tell me, Naruto..." Naruto looked over to him.

"Naruto," Itachi repeated, "What do you think of Sasuke?"

"He's a bastard." Naruto said flatly.

'That was quick,' Itachi thought sweat dropping.

"That's it? Nothing else?"

"Well... he's just so... distant sometimes... ok a lot of the time..."

"And you wish he'd warm up to you?"

Naruto nodded shyly, missing the glint in Itachi's eye.

"Well Naruto, he may take a while... but you know," Itachi's face grew closer to Naruto's, "I'm always here when you need to talk."

Naruto's face lit up, "Thanks Itachi!" He said throwing his arms around the elder Uchiha.

Itachi smirked and looked up in the tree to catch the dark eyes glaring back at him. Itachi's smirk twisted and he brought his arms around Naruto.

"It's my pleasure... Naruto..." Itachi said in a husky voice. **2**

The figure glared deeply at Itachi before silently jumping to another tree and into the darkness.

xoxoxox

Itachi had escorted Naruto back inside and too the stair case leading up to Sasuke's room. Naruto said a short goodnight to Itachi and gave a warming smile before heading up the long stairway. Itachi had told Naruto that Naruto would be sleeping in Sasuke room. If it was too... uncomfortable for them to sleep in the same bed there was an extra one inside the fold out couch **3**.

Naruto finally made it to the top of the steps. Even in his excellent condition he was still slightly panting when he reached the top.

"Phew... how--can he climb all those steps everyday..." Naruto questioned no one.

Naruto looked up at the door leading into Sasuke's room. His face slightly saddened.

_If it's too uncomfortable for you or Sasuke, Naruto-kun, Sasuke has an extra bed stored in the black couch in his room._

'Too uncomfortable, ne?? I wish not...' Naruto blushed deeply and clenched his fists, 'What am I thinking! I barely know Sasuke still!'

Naruto shook his head free of any of his previous thoughts or his talk with Itachi and started towards Sasuke's door. He grabbed the cold handle and pulled open the door. Sasuke's room was dark and lit dimly with blue lights **4**. Naruto squinted his eyes trying to see clearly in the darkness. Even though the floor was spotless and there was no danger of tripping over anything, Naruto still slowly walked over to the side of Sasuke's bed. He bent down next to it since it was on the ground. There was a lump in it but Naruto didn't think Sasuke would be asleep so early. Naruto brought his hand down gently on to the lump to find it was just that, a lump. No Sasuke.

"What are you doing, dobe?"

Naruto jumped two feet in the air and landed a perfect 180.

"S-S-Sasuke! Haha, I was just seeing if you were asleep or... uh, heh." Naruto seemed to run out of things to say.

Sasuke was sitting in a black chair in a corner next to his bed. He slowly got up and walked over to Naruto. Naruto felt weak under the younger Uchiha's black eyes. As Sasuke grew nearer, Naruto backed up until his ankles his Sasuke's bed. Naruto was caught off balance and began to fall backwards. Reaching out, he grabbed onto the first thing he could, Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke was pulled forward as well.

Naruto landed on Sasuke's bed with an 'oomph' and his eyes snapped open when he realized the two arms by his head. Looking up his light eyes met with two coal black ones. Sasuke's hair was almost touching Naruto's face and Sasuke's breathing was a little staggered from the shock of the fall. Naruto's breath began to slow down a little when he recovered from the fall, but the closeness that he and the Uchiha had accidentally acquired didn't allow his breath to go back to it's normal pace. Sasuke must have noticed this.

"You seem tense..." He muttered.

"I-I do not..." Naruto said slowly, trying not to stutter.

Sasuke was silent. Naruto kept waiting for Sasuke to get off of him but Sasuke didn't move. Sasuke's knees were around Naruto's hips and their bodies were parallel. Naruto wondered if Sasuke was trying to drive him insane...

"Stay away from Itachi..."

"What?" Naruto said caught off guard.

Black eyes bore into blue, "Don't trust him. Just stay away from him..."

Naruto's wide eyes went into slits, "You can't tell me what to do." He accused.

Sasuke's expression didn't change.

"I'll stay around Itachi all I want.... he's better company than _you_." Naruto hissed.

"Shut up dobe," Sasuke said.

Naruto's eyes widened once again as Sasuke grabbed his wrists and pinned them to his sides. Sasuke's face came closer to his and their lips met. Naruto was too shocked to move for a bit. When he realized what was happening he squeezed his eyes shut but didn't try to fight back. Naruto was beginning to slightly respond to the kisses Sasuke was giving him. When Sasuke felt the slight response, he got bolder and licked Naruto's lips. When Naruto's lips opened Sasuke's tongue didn't hesitate to respond. It quickly darted into Naruto's mouth and explored every centimeter of Naruto's moist cavern. Naruto moaned slightly and his back arched subconsciously. Sasuke complied to Naruto's wanting and began trailing kisses down his neck.

The entire night was filled with soft moans and screams...

End of Chapter Six:

Yes, well I think you all know what happens at the end. I'm too lazy to write out a scene but I'm sure you can think of something in your twisted minds x3.

**1:** The rest of the dinner scene is cut because I wrote a little more and then when I looked over it I thought it was crap. Really, it was just plain crap. So I took it out. There was no significance to the plot (yes! This story has (will have) a plot!) or anything in it so... yeah. It just ends there.

**2: **ok 'husky' is the only word I can think of but I was also thinking of using 'deep' but then that just sounded gay so um... yeah. Excuse my rambling.

**3:** let's just say that century had fold out couches mmkay?

**4:** I have this perfect picture in my head of what I want Sasuke room to look like. I don't know how to describe it though ;-;....

Well I hope you liked this chapter... I'm sorry it's kinda short... and that I'm too lazy to read over it/edit it... please review now :D!

Love Anukis


	7. Potion Motion

Eeek! Over **100** reviews!! I can't believe it! ;-; You guys kick some major boo-tay x3! I want to thank each one of you individually but doing that one by one is really tedious and I tend to loose my train of thought when I do so... but I promise you I do read your comments and I appreciate every single one of them! You're all too great!

Warnings: The usual.

Disclaimer: Yes, yes. I do not own Naruto, but the butler is _mine _x3...

Parings: Like every other chapter... and hopefully you've read every other chapter .

**Recap**:

_The entire night was filled with soft moans and screams..._

(x3 what a wonderful recap, ne?)

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

_**Chapter 7: Potion Motion**_

Sasuke's eyes fluttered open. The bright rays of the sun shined through his bedroom window, still slightly hurting his eyes. Squeezing them shut only to open them wide again, he reached up and rubbed his eyes free of the sleep that still sealed them shut. Sasuke, as he awoke, suddenly realized the hand on his chest and the extra warmth along his right side. Memories of the previous night washed over him, and looking down onto a mop of golden locks, he let show a rare smile.

Unfortunate for Sasuke, he had to awake the sleeping beauty... He had a meeting with Orochimaru, the castle advisor and magician, and to Sasuke; the worst thing to happen to the world.

Sasuke gently removed himself from the two small arms that held him and gave a small frown as he saw the disappointment from the lack of warmth spread across the blonds face.

"Sasu...ke--" Naruto's eyes fluttered open and he yawned, "Where're you going?"

Sasuke slipped on his robe and turned towards the youth.

"I'll be back soon," He leaned down and gave his love a soft kiss on the forehead. **1**

Naruto, seeming content with this answer, curled up into a ball and wore a soft smile on his face. Sasuke took in one last moment of the younger boy before going into his dressing chamber **2**. He wore his usual attire and started towards the stairs leading down to the main floor.

Just thinking of his destination made his stomach turn...

Orochimaru was most positively the worst thing to have walked this planet **3**. His sickening gray skin and yellow eyes made one want to vomit **3**. The was his snake like fingers would curl as he spoke or the way his eyes would turn into reptilian slits. His long, thin lips and long, black hair made him seem worn. He was thin and seemed fragile but his eyes gave a different story. He often wore black clothing; robes suited him.

Sasuke reached the door. It was black, the corner it hid itself in was dark, and everything about it made Sasuke want to turn around and leave. Just walk away and not return. Perhaps it was the cold that surrounded this area... perhaps it was the cold that lay within it. Either way, Sasuke really had to tell Itachi to fire Orochimaru... Sasuke lifted his fist and knocked on the old oak door.

"Come in," Hissed a voice from behind the door.

Sasuke obeyed and took the cold handle. Just the mere click of the door opening made him cringe. He opened the door wide and the darkness of the room welcomed him. Only the faint glow of mysterious potions or the dim candles on the wall gave Sasuke light to see by. He swore that Orochimaru could see in the dark... he was, after all, a bloodsucker... **4**.

Then Sasuke saw him. The person he despised the most in the entire world. Orochimaru stood mixing two potions together. One was a light blue, the other was clear. As he mixed them, they became a slivery-red, then crimson. Sasuke watched closely as Orochimaru mixed the potions before sitting himself in a black velvet chair that he usually sat at. When Orochimaru stopped mixing the potions, he looked at each one carefully, then while setting them back down into their holders he began to speak.

"So nice to see you again Sasuke... I rarely see you wandering around this area of the palace anymore. Have I scared you off?" Orochimaru said with a grin and a hint of sarcasm.

Sasuke could only grunt in response. Just talking to Orochimaru made Sasuke sick. Orochimaru glanced over the potions he had out on the table once more before fully turning to face Sasuke. The grin on his face made Sasuke's stomach turn. Orochimaru made his way over to Sasuke and sat himself across from the younger boy. The grin on his face was gone, now only a faint smirk could be seen. He knew that Sasuke hated coming here... and he loved to torture the boy. He held out his hand, the usual procedure, and Sasuke had to comply by forcing his hand to move to Orochimaru's. Orochimaru took Sasuke's hand and faced the palm up. Moving Sasuke's palm closer to a light source, he moved it back a forth looking over the lines and marks in the palm.

"I can see that something has been improving your mood, Sasuke..." Orochimaru's thick tongue seemed to drag out his S's like that of a snake.

Sasuke only gave a slight shrug, "Perhaps." He grunted.

"Could it be... this Naruto? I've heard so much about him already from your older brother... and he just came yesterday I heard! Imagine that..." Orochimaru's smirk twisted into a sick grin, "I suppose he'll have to have his check-up today sometime then?"

Sasuke snapped away his hand. Sasuke knew that Orochimaru, being the only doctor in their house would have to give Naruto a check-up to make sure he was fit for living in such a place.

'_Maybe a bit too late..._' Sasuke thought with a mental grin.

Orochimaru sighed as Sasuke snapped back his hand.

"Don't be stubborn Sasuke... you know I'd never intentionally hurt anyone..."

Sasuke swore he heard sarcasm dripping from every word.

"Come now, give me your arm."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and gave Orochimaru his right forearm. Orochimaru placed two fingers on Sasuke's forearm just above where one's pulse could be found. Orochimaru's eyes closed and he stayed like that for a good minute and a half. Opening his eyes he gave Sasuke another snake-like smile.

"You seem to be doing well. That is all I need for today."

Sasuke nodded and quickly rose from his chair. He felt Orochimaru's eyes on him the entire time he walked out of the room.

xoxoxo

Naruto was sitting back in the window seat in Sasuke room. He wore plain pants and was hugging a pillow to his chest with his knees and looking down outside the window to the land below. The forest looked beautiful from above, but Naruto knew how beautiful it looked inside of it too. Naruto remembered all the things he used to do in the forest. When he hid in the trees taking long naps, or went swimming in the cool river on hot days. Everything seemed so close to him, yet so far away. It was then that he feared never seeing the forest again.

He was so caught up in his fears he didn't hear the door click open. Only when he heard a voice did his thoughts snap back to reality.

"You're awake." Sasuke stated.

Naruto looked over and smiled to the older boy, nodding slightly.

Sasuke, though only knowing Naruto for about a day, was able to see through a mask Naruto had obviously been wearing. Sasuke sat next to Naruto on the seat and looked into Naruto's eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh? Nothing's wrong." Naruto said giving a half-hearted smile.

Sasuke's eyes were doubtful though, "You can tell me..."

When Naruto didn't reply right away, but only turned to glace out the window, Sasuke's heart slightly sank. He wanted Naruto to trust him.

"I'm not sure..." Naruto looked back at Sasuke, "I just... miss someone."

Sasuke's heart flickered with jealously. Perhaps Naruto had someone else?

"Who?" Sasuke asked, keeping the emotion in his thoughts out of his voice.

"An old friend. Can we visit her tomorrow?"

'_Her...?_' Sasuke began to dread something.

"Where is she?"

"The forest..." Naruto answered.

Now it was Sasuke's turn to glance out the window. When Naruto saw the doubt in Sasuke's eyes he knew his fear may come reality.

"_Please_ Sasuke! We won't have to stay long. I-I want you to meet her..." Naruto's gaze shifted downwards.

Sasuke's heart melted at the site, and even though he wouldn't admit, he felt himself hit bottom. He would do anything to see Naruto smile...

"Of course we can," Sasuke said with a soft smile.

Naruto's gaze lifted to meet Sasuke's and his eyes were ten times brighter. A new happiness came to him. And Sasuke was dead jealous.

End Chapter Seven:

Hm... I wonder who this _her_ Naruto speaks of is... ne??? Maybe I'll give a cookie to someone if they guess right :)

Well? You like, dislike? Please review! All comments welcomed :3...

**1** Erm... this is slightly OOC... ok... maybe a lot more than just slightly... but I think that if Sasuke and Naruto were to ever get together that Sasuke would be more open (at least when he and Naruto are alone) and not like he usually is.

**2 **I have not one f-ing clue what a dressing chamber is... but he has one anyway. I think I kinda want it to be like, just, a giant closet that's big enough to change in or something.

**3 **I don't really hate Orochimaru that much... I kinda dislike him because of what he

tries to do to Sasuke/Naruto (mainly Sasuke) in the manga but all this negative energy towards him is supposed to be coming from Sasuke... yeah.

**4** Orochimaru is not a literal bloodsucker... he just acts like one... to Sasuke at least.

THANK YOU MY REVIEWERS! I LOVE YOU ALL TIMES INFINITY PLUS ONE!!

Please Review!

Love, Anukis

PS Again I'm sorry for any grammer or spelling errors... it's too late for me to proof-read and I want to get this chapter put up for you guys before tomorrow ;D. Goodnight then!


	8. Enter the Gardener: Shikamaru!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed!!! I really hope you'll all continue to review even though I'm not responding to you each individually (I feel really bad about not doing that for the last couple of chapters...). Maybe I'll have time at the end of this chapter to respond to you all :) thanks!

Warnings: Hopefully you know them by now...

Disclaimer: Yes, yes. I do not own Naruto, but the butler is _mine _x3... (And so is some of the character modeling in this chapter... heh heh)

Parings: Like every other chapter... and hopefully you've read every other chapter . 

**Recap**:

_"Please Sasuke! We won't have to stay long. I-I want you to meet her..." Naruto's gaze shifted downwards._

_Sasuke's heart melted at the site, and even though he wouldn't admit, he felt himself hit bottom. He would do anything to see Naruto smile..._

_"Of course we can," Sasuke said with a soft smile._

_Naruto's gaze lifted to meet Sasuke's and his eyes were ten times brighter. A new happiness came to him. And Sasuke was dead jealous._

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

**_Chapter 8: Enter the Gardener: Shikamaru! And Sasuke meets...!_**

Naruto anticipated the next day with all his heart. He could finally see _her_ again. It hadn't been long since he was away from the forest. But truthfully, before he'd come to the palace he actually hadn't seen her in... three weeks was it...?

He missed her badly.

Sasuke had seen the loneliness that filled Naruto's eyes while he'd been talking about this mysterious person from Naruto's past, and Sasuke became curious... but also extremely jealous.

xoxoxox

Naruto was out walking around in the gardens again. After getting a tour of the old castle, it was much easier for him to find things to do and not have a fear of getting lost. He was lying on a stone bench under a giant oak tree when he heard some sort of muttering coming from the other side of the bush next to him. He strained his ears to hear words instead of grunts.

"Stupid... bothersome... Itachi... bastard..." Was all Naruto caught of the mutterings.

Naruto stood up from his place on the bench and used it as a step stool kind of thing to look over the giant bush. He caught a glimpse of a boy maybe one year younger than himself. The boy had brown hair and lazy looking eyes. He wore and tan-green outfit and was carrying a bucket filled with garden type supplies. He kneeled next to a rose bush and pulled on a pair of working gloves. He let out a long, dragging, lazy sigh and looked up to the clouds above him. Naruto was about to get down to go ask him what he was supposed to be doing when the boy caught sight of him.

There was an awkward silence. Naruto was thinking he'd been caught, but doing what he didn't know.

"Uh... Yo." Naruto said in a bit of a nervous tone trying to break the silence.

"Hn." The boy looked at Naruto closely, "You must be that new guy, ugh... how bothersome."

"Wh-What! What do you mean by 'bothersome'!?"

"Tch, like it matters. I have... work to do." The boy seemed to have trouble saying the word 'work'.

"Ne! You could at least tell me your name!" Naruto said with a huff as he got down from the bench and ran around the hedge to face the boy face to face.

"Shikamaru."

"My name's Naruto!"

"Hn. Nice to meet you, I suppose."

"Heh." Naruto gave him a grin before looking up to the sun that was just about to set on the horizon.

"Isn't it a little, late to be trimming rose bushes?"

"Yes. It's very late... but Itachi yelled at me for not doing my share in work... I'm always slow with things like this. I don't enjoy doing work like this..."

"Then why do you have to work now?"

"Because he told me to get it done by tonight or he'd fire me..."

"So just get a different job."

"I can't. This is the best job I can get and we need the money."

"Oh..." Naruto looked back up to the sun again, "Well Shikamaru... It was nice meeting you but Sasuke told me not to be late for dinner so I've gotta go. I'll see you around sometime!"

Naruto waved as he started to jog towards the castle. Shikamaru gave a slight wave back as a thought ran through his head.

'_Annoying... kind of..._' **1**

xoxoxox

Naruto was basically skipping back into the castle while he allowed his thoughts to wander to tomorrow. He was so hyper infact, that he almost crashed into the owner of black hair coming the opposite direction.

"Watch where you're going, dobe."

"Sasuke!" Naruto said, slightly startled from not seeing the ebony haired boy, "Don't call me dobe, bastard!"

"Don't call me bastard, dobe."

"Grrr..."

"Come on, dobe... you don't want to miss dinner. Or do you?"

Naruto snapped out of his glare, "No!"

"Then you better hurry up." **2**

xoxoxox

Sasuke awoke the next day to find that he was laying on something very warm... and it moved slightly too...

Naruto.

Sasuke opened his eyes to see that his head was on Naruto's chest and the dull _th-thud th-thud th-thud_ of Naruto's heart could be heard beating inside. Sasuke closed his eyes and listened to the addictive rhythm for a while before remembering what he'd promised for that day. He told Naruto he'd take him to the forest. And so he should.

Sasuke gently began to move. He lifted his arm from Naruto's stomach and tugged his leg free of Naruto's. After successfully getting up out of the bed, he stood up and stretched. He took a quick shower **3** and got dressed into dark pants and a dark blue top. He looked for his outing cape before remembering it was downstairs by the door. He was about to go out to wake Naruto when he heard a deep yawn from behind him. Sasuke turned to see Naruto sitting up in the bed, stretching and rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"G'mornin' Sasuke..." Naruto said sleepily.

"Good morning." Sasuke walked over to wear he'd laid out an outfit for Naruto and picking it up, he threw it at Naruto's head, "Hurry. The sooner you're ready the sooner we can leave to see your friend."

Naruto's face lit up and he quickly jumped up and went to change. They set off to the forest as soon as Sasuke told Itachi they were leaving.

xoxoxox

They walked through the town and down to an old river. The river was maybe ten feet wide and only two feet deep in most areas. The trees were tall and a luscious green. The grass was soft under their feet. Naruto had told Sasuke that it wouldn't take more than twenty minutes to get to where they would find _her_. And he was right.

It had been fifteen minutes of walking when they came upon a giant lake. It was near the waterfall **3**. Naruto's face broke out into a huge grin.

"We're here." He said stopping to admire the beautiful water and the heart soothing sound of the waterfall crashing upon the rocks.

"It's beautiful here..." Sasuke commented.

"Yeah..." Naruto's voice was soft.

He had truly missed the forest. Sasuke almost felt bad for making him leave it.

Naruto's face scanned down around the rocks at the base of the waterfall and soon he saw what he was looking for.

"Come on, Sasuke! There she is!" Naruto said grabbing Sasuke's wrist.

"Huh? Where?" Sasuke tried to look down to where Naruto had pointed but couldn't look away from where he was walking for fear of slipping on one of the rocks.

They reached the bottom quickly and Naruto began tugging fervently on Sasuke sleeve.

"See her! Look!" Naruto said pointing again towards the bottom of the waterfall.

Sasuke looked up quickly remembering why they were there. He saw something orange sitting by the waters edge. As they grew closer to the small thing he saw that it was a young fox. But it was different. It had nine tails.

"Kitsune!" Naruto called out.

The foxes ears perked up at the sound and its head quickly turned towards them. With a flick of the fox's tail a woman appeared in its place. The woman was maybe two years older than Sasuke and Naruto themselves. She quickly stood up from beside the water and ran towards Naruto. As the came together they embraced each other with a hug. The fox-girl had bright orange-red hair and yellow eyes. Her skin was a light olive color and she had a big toothy grin much like Naruto's. Her cheeks had the same strange whisker scars across them and she had long white nails.

Sasuke's jealously was ever present as he watched Naruto embrace the girl and nuzzle his face into her shoulder but he realized that she acted more like a mother to him than anything else. She suddenly looked over to him and kept the grin on her face as she looked at him. She tapped Naruto and pointed to Sasuke.

"Oh! Kitsune, this is Sasuke! Sasuke, this is Kitsune!"

The fox-girl, Kitsune, walked over to Sasuke and stuck out her hand.

"Its nice to meet you Sasuke-kun."

End Chapter Eight:

I know that was kinda a sucky place to end it but I'll make up for it later ok? :3 Please review! I'll love you forever!

Oh yes! And cookies to everyone who guess The Kyuubi!! Now if you'll excuse me... it's rather late. G'night.

Anukis

PS. Forgive me again for not being able to reply to my wonderful reviewers ;-; I truly am sorry... also I didn't proof read this so forgive the grammar errors and/or spelling mistakes, hopefully they're not too bad :).


	9. Enter the FoxGirl! Kyuubi no Kitsune!

Ok guys, you'll have to forgive it's being gay again...

I've put up eight chapters (now nine :D) and some people say that they're not having any problem with them and they all work but some people (including myself) keep seeing only 98 reviews or six chapters or things like that. Those of you who have worked with for a while know exactly what I'm talking about right?

Anyways

W00t! Nine chapters now! And don't worry! A plot will be coming soon... if not in this chapter then it'll be in the next couple of chapters. I have to be honest though. I didn't make some long plotting thing for this story. I'm just making it up as I go along and I'm always playing with different ideas so suggestions are welcome. I love you all!!

OH WAIT! I just thought of something! **LISTEN! If you're having troubles reading the other chapters then use the link at the top and where there is the single number (in this chapters case it'd be nine) and put a different chapter number. **

Now that I think about it though... if you're having trouble reading the other chapters... you probably won't be able to see nine... and that means I just wasted five minutes of writing time... –sigh-. Maybe I can put that on my profile! Yeah... that'll work :).

OK! _One_ more thing and then I promise you can read the rest of the story... unless you just skipped over all of this and went on to read the story... But anywho I just noticed that I didn't put up what the numbers were for in the last chapter soooo here we are:

**1 **I think of Naruto and Shikamaru as best friends. Nothing more. I don't think of them as a couple, one-sided or otherwise. I just think of them as friends so sorry and shikanaru fans but I don't do that :3.

**2 **I just suck at writing dinner scenes or something... so um, yeah it's kinda just cut off there...

**3** They have showers now, mmkay?

Warnings: the same

Disclaimer: the same

Erm... anything else important like that: the same

laziness is a beautiful thing x3

**Recap**:

"_Oh! Kitsune, this is Sasuke! Sasuke, this is Kitsune!"_

_The fox-girl, Kitsune, walked over to Sasuke and stuck out her hand._

"_Its nice to meet you Sasuke-kun."_

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

_**Chapter 9: Enter the Fox Girl! Kyuubi no Kitsune!**_

Her vulpine like grin never faded as she shook Sasuke's hand. Her yellow eyes looking over him and she shook her head freely letting her short, spiky orange hair fall around her face. She wore a blue kimono with little butterflies all over it.

"You did good Naru-chan!" She said stepping back to look at Sasuke.

"W-What do you mean?" Naruto asked a little shocked.

"Hm?" Kitsune looked over to Naruto with a slightly confused look to her face, "Sasuke-kun is Naru-chan's mate is he not?"

"K-K-Kitsune! Please don't talk about that so open--"

"I am." Sasuke quickly cut in.

"Eh?" Naruto looked over to Sasuke; Naruto's face was fully flushed now.

How could Sasuke say that so calmly...even though... it was kinda truth? Ok it _was_ true but that still wasn't something humans talked about openly.... at least, not in the 'mate' term.

Kitsune's fox-grin widened and she gave Naruto a large hug.

"That's great Naru-chan! I'm sure Sasuke-kun is a great person!"

"How are you so certain?" Sasuke asked, wondering how she could be so trusting.

"I can feel it." She said, "I can see it."

'_I forgot... she is a fox demon..._' **1 **Sasuke thought to himself.

Sasuke sat and listened to Naruto and Kitsune as they caught up with new events. Kitsune talked of what she'd been doing, which was mainly hunting and being a fox and stuff like that... and Naruto talked about the palace. Kitsune seemed fascinated with the palace but Sasuke didn't dare ask her to live there. He didn't want to be the one to cage a rare site like the Kyuubi no Kitsune. It was then that the Kyuubi mentioned two people who sounded some how familiar to Sasuke, when he swore he'd never heard their names before.

"Oh! Naru-chan! Did you know that Tsunade and Jiraiya are coming back soon?"

"Really?! When?!"

Kitsune shook her head, "I don't know exactly either tomorrow or the day after... But I feel, strange. They are coming back on account of business."

"Jiraiya... Tsunade..." Sasuke muttered.

Kitsune and Naruto looked over to Sasuke.

"I've heard those names before... I think..." He said.

Kitsune nodded, "I wouldn't be surprised... but you've heard them as legends..."

Sasuke's eyes widened, "That's them!"

He stood up quickly from the rock he had been sitting on.

"I'm not surprised you have heard of them. The legendary Ninjas; Jiraiya and Tsunade."

xoxoxox

"Tsunade! If you don't hurry up we're going to be later than we already are."

"Shut up," The woman said from her place at the bar, "My feet hurt. We have time for a break."

"Tch." Jiraiya rolled his eyes high and gave an exaggerated sigh.

Tsunade downed the last bit of her sake before raising her cup again and shouting for seconds. Jiraiya swirled the last bit of his own sake and took another bite of the rice cake in front of him.

"You know... we shouldn't linger..." Jiraiya muttered.

"I know that... but..." Tsunade's eyes lowered, "Maybe I'm just not ready to see him again yet."

"Yeah. It's been a long time since we've seen Orochimaru.... but Kitsune says he's been up to something. She can feel it."

"Huuuh... Orochimaru is always up to something. He's been planning on overthrowing the Uchiha family for a century... maybe more."

"Yeah.... Kitsune seemed extra worried though. The negative energy coming from that section of Hidden Leaf has been pretty strong."

"Then how come only four of us can sense it."

"That's the ups of being one of the last ninja's I suppose."

"Guess so..."

xoxoxox

Kitsune's eyes filled with sadness as the end of the day was coming to a close. She enjoyed Naruto's company and he usually stayed for more than just a day...

"I'm sorry Naruto but we've got to start heading back."

"Just _five_ more minutes Sasuke! I've still got to say goodbye to Kitsune!"

"Ugh—Hurry up then will you?"

Naruto flung himself onto Kitsune and the woman laughed.

"Don't worry Naru-chan... I'm positive I'll be seeing you again soon." She said embracing him.

"I know..." Naruto said pulling himself away from her.

"Come on Naruto." Sasuke said feeling slightly guilty for Naruto's sadness.

"I'm coming." Naruto started towards the way back and Sasuke was close behind him when he felt someone grab his arm.

He turned to see Kitsune. Her happy cheerful appearance was gone. Her eyes were filled with worry, a secret...

"Don't let Orochimaru near Naruto."

"How do you know Oro--?"

But it was too late. She was gone.

xoxoxox

Tsunade stretched out and yawned loudly.

"See! We're here a day early! I told you that sake would help get me going!" Tsunade said with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah..." Jiraiya mumbled.

The sun had set and the sky was filled with stars. Off in the distance from their place atop the waterfall they could see the Uchiha Castle and the small town surrounding it.

"There it is..." Tsunade whispered.

"Kitsune is waiting for us."

"Yeah but most likely she's gonna find us."

"I know, let's just go down now."

They went down into the Machimoto Valley to the bottom of the waterfall and just before Tsunade was going to say 'she's not here' there was a bright flash of orange.

"You're early. You surprised me..." Came a female voice.

Tsunade and Jiraiya looked up to a rock next to the waterfall.

"To be early is to be on time." Jiraiya said with a grin.

"So it is." Kitsune grinned back, "Now, shall we begin business?"

End Chapter Nine

**1 **I'm gonna say that fox-demons can kinda... feel what a person is like. I guess....

BEHOLD! A plot arises :3....

Please review! These chapters have been shot but that's cuz they've been some pretty quick updates x3. So review!

I Love Thee! My Reviewers!

Anukis


	10. The Samurai Returns

EEE!!! 130 reviews ;-; I love thee....

I'm too lazy to put up the disclaim and warnings cuz by now you had better know them or else you'd better go back and actually read the story. So don't complain to me about not having a disclaimer/warning/etc. cuz it's not my fault you can't read details clearly posted on other chapters (not that anyone actually cares or anything).

-Ughhh- I just watched the Samurai X movie. It was good :) and so I'm into a very... deepish-blood-spilling mode I suppose. Thank you for taking time out of your day to read and review my story! It makes me happy to know you guys like the story so much :).

Review Corner:

_**Yaoilover S:** um... that's kinda close :D but I'm not giving anything away (mainly because I _have_ nothing to give away seeing as I don't really know the plot myself..._

_**animelvr4ever:** It's Kitsune, Orochimaru, Tsunade and Jiraiya. Of course... I guess the character that appears in this chapter can sense it too... probably :)_

_**Black Angel Of Distruction**: Thank you 8D! I'm so glad people like this story even though I'm kinda slacking off trying to get this darn plot line moving x3_

_**Ookami Fuu:** Um. Ok!_

****_: Ehhh --; I know... I'm making such short chapters! –bows- forgive me..._

_**Momochi Zabuza:** lol thanks a bunch :) You rock!_

_**nighthunter:** Well you can kinda warp the story and in your mind I'll allow you to imagine it in a very affectionate way :D! I didn't really mean for them to sound so... eh... but I didn't want them sounding completely falling all over each other or anything like that either._

_**Haruya: **A lot of people guessed Sakura it seems like (ok maybe only one or two) but if you think about it... I already had her as a maid-type-person in the story so Sasuke would technically already know her... and I dislike Sakura with a burning passion so chances are she's not going to have a big role in this story. _

_**lovewaya-isumi:** 8D Thank you! I'm glad you like it... and I hope I continue doing a good job :)!_

**;**_Um... this person technically reviewed for chapter 6 and so I can't really help them by responding in chapter ten since they say that they can't see chapter ten or anything... AND since they didn't leave an email I can't help... so **if anyone reads this:** **HELP!** please? Tell this person that they can manipulate the link and put in the chapter number at the top... or just send them the link for this chapter or something... please?_

_**Azamaria-chan**: Thanks a lot! Glad you enjoyed it._

_**Kyuubi-kun**: xD I love you! You make me laugh :)! You get a cookie! You guessed right. And Tsunade was mentioned too so...good job! xD thanks for your review!_

_OMG_!_ Look_ I answered reviews! yesss...

**Recap**:

_"You're early. You surprised me..." Came a female voice._

_Tsunade and Jiraiya looked up to a rock next to the waterfall._

_"To be early is to be on time." Jiraiya said with a grin._

_"So it is." Kitsune grinned back, "Now, shall we begin business?"_

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

_**Chapter Ten: The Samurai Returns**_

The night was now still. Only his breaths were heard beneath the blood red moon. He whipped his sword clean of the filthy blood that stained it. Drawing the sword back into its sheath, he let out a sigh. Another Sound spy killed by his hand. As he opened her eyes one could see that they were the eyes of someone who was used to looking at death. Standing up he started to head in the direction of his calling. Though he was not certain how, someone had called him. Someone from his past. And though he was reluctant, he answered the foxes cry. And now, somehow, he found herself tangled in a web of a war that was just about to break loose its chain.

His eyes glowed a dark crimson as he looked through the darkness. Placing one hand on his sword and letting the other hang at his side he darted off into the night on silent paws. He would soon reach his destination.

xoxoxox

"Orochimaru has been planning this for such a long time, Kitsune..." Jiraiya said from his place on the cool rock.

"Yes, I'm aware of this." She said, her eyes glowing green under the pale moon.

"Then how do you know he is truly about to make his move?"

"I just know. You have to understand Tsunade..." The fox looked over to the older woman, "I can not even understand my own powers."

"It is important then, that we get into the palace as soon as possible." Jiraiya crossed his arms and nodded.

"Yes. That is important. But we must also take away any chances of Orochimaru's increase in power."

"What do you mean?"

Kitsune looked up, "Naruto."

Tsunade and Jiraiya's head whipped over to look at the Kyuubi.

"Naruto? He still lives in the forest though... Orochimaru has no knowledge of Naruto's existence!"

"But he does. The young Uchiha heir has taken Naruto into the palace. They've become close and so I know the Uchiha will protect Naruto if Orochimaru were to try anything out of place while they are at the palace... but I'm afraid that even the young Uchiha may prove _useful _to Orochimaru if needed."

"Then the sooner they are out of this place, the better." Tsunade muttered.

Kitsune slowly nodded, "Yes. And I have acquired the help of an old friend of mine to help us. He should be here... shortly."

Tsunade and Jiraiya looked curiously to Kitsune. They were silent for a while before they heard rustling from the cliffs far above. As Jiraiya and Tsunade looked up they saw a dark figure shoot out from the bushes and jump down the side of the cliff. The figures back was facing towards them as it stood.

"This better be worth my time, Kitsune..."

"Oh... don't worry. It will be."

xoxoxox

Sasuke had trouble sleeping that night. Even though he knew Naruto was safely within his arms, he couldn't help but feel as if something was coming. Perhaps he was just tense about what Kitsune had said.

'_Don't let Orochimaru near Naruto._'

Her words had echoed through his mind ever since she disappeared to no where. Sasuke's head was filled with questions. None of which were answered as he clung tightly on to the blond next to him. How did Kitsune know Orochimaru? Why didn't she want Naruto near Orochimaru? What was it that was so dangerous about him that would make that gleam of fear appear so heavily in Kitsune's eyes? Just who was... Orochimaru....?

It was true that Sasuke had never really learned anything about Orochimaru. He only knew that Itachi had hired Orochimaru when he went to the Hidden Sound Village quite a distance away. Orochimaru had scared the living crap out of Sasuke when Sasuke first saw him, but in time he thought that it was perhaps just the way he looked or spoke. But Sasuke wasn't that naive. He knew that there was something more causing his fear but where this unknown fear was emerging from, Sasuke had no clue as to the origin. Perhaps he would learn in time.

And he would.

xoxoxox

Kitsune grinned up at the figure in front of her, "It's been a very looong time, ne??? Shukaku??"

In front of Kitsune stood a man about 5'5" with dusty brown hair down to his waist pulled back in a loose pony tail. His eyes continued to glow red but underneath the red was their original black looking as fierce as ever. His tan skin glowed smoothly under the moon's soft light. His attire was all black and in the style of a samurai's outfit. He had two swords at his waist. One with a red hilt, and the other with a black.

"Don't give me that grin Kitsune," He snarled untying the red sword from his waist, "This is yours."

He tossed the sword to the Kyuubi and she caught it with grace.

"About time you returned this thing to me."

Shukaku's outward appearance had not changed since the raccoon demon had last seen his old friend, and neither had his manners. He was still the same cold, grumpy raccoon that Kitsune used to know. She was grateful that some things really never change.

"Well now that the gangs all here," Kitsune said breaking the silence, "Let's get to work."

The other three nodded.

"What are we doing first?" Shukaku's growled.

Kitsune's eyes sparkled mischievously, "Getting Naruto and Sasuke out of the palace."

End Chapter Ten:

Question... is it two "u"'s in Kyuubi or just one... I think it looks (and sounds) better with two "u"s but I want to know if it's right... or if it matters :) Thanks!

And before I forget: Yes... this chapter is short and pitiful... but you'll forgive me? Right? Please? ;-;

Anukis


	11. I met the Kyuubi

Yes, I am quite aware of the lack in updating-ness. Forgive me, but I just seriously didn't feel like writing at all. I was also kinda... stuck. Any suggestions are welcome if you want to email me or just leave a note in a review :). Ok, won't keep you waiting.

**Recap**

"_Well now that the gangs all here," Kitsune said breaking the silence, "Let's get to work."_

_The other three nodded._

"_What are we doing first?" Shukaku's growled._

_Kitsune's eyes sparkled mischievously, "Getting Naruto and Sasuke out of the palace."_

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

**_Chapter Eleven: "I met the Kyuubi"_**

The sun shown brightly the next morning. Needless to say, Sasuke couldn't sleep. He knew he'd drifted off once or twice during the night, but he had no knowledge of his actually amount of sleep. The events of the day before had sunk deep into his thoughts. He'd always been wary of Orochimaru and didn't plan on letting Orochimaru alone with Naruto, but now he had no intention of letting Orochimaru near Naruto at all. Perhaps he'd bring it up with his brother; after all, Itachi seemed to be as uncomfortable with Orochimaru as Sasuke was. Sasuke decided he might as well give it a shot, it usually didn't hurt to try. Sasuke slipped out from beneath the covers, making sure Naruto still had plenty wrapped around himself. Sasuke's feet touched the cold floor and he made his way to the door. Maybe having a thousand stairs wasn't so brilliant, especially so early in the morning.

Eventually he reached the bottom and began to make his way to the library. It was where Itachi would usually stay before breakfast. Sure enough, when Sasuke reached his destination, he found his elder brother comfortably sitting in a rather large black chair. Itachi's eyes didn't even have to glance up.

"What is it Sasuke?"

His brother's forwardness didn't surprise him, neither did his knowledge that it was in fact Sasuke that had entered the room.

"It's Orochimaru."

Immediately Itachi closed his book. He sat up from his position and leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees.

"Not this again Sasuke," Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"It's different. Naruto maybe in danger and I don't want that slime going near--"

"That slime is what protects you from disease."

"I don't care. It's Naruto I'm worried about."

"How in the seven hells, Sasuke, can Naruto be involved in anyway with Orochimaru. They haven't even met."

"I..."

Itachi glanced up for the first time to look at Sasuke.

"I... I met the Kyuubi."

xoxoxoxox

"Ok!" Kitsune grabbed a scroll from her side and laid it out on a rock next to the quartette, "The battle plan!"

The other tree sweatdropped.

"Where the hell did you learn to draw?"

"Is that... a tree?"

Meanwhile, Jiraiya was dying of laughter...

"WHAT?! Don't make fun of my drawing!! I think it's pretty good compared to how some people draw.... Shu.ka.ku." Kitsune growled dangerously.

Shukaku gave a light cough and turned away, "I still think it looks stupid."

"And just wondering... why the hell do you have the kitchen marked?" Tsunade asked looking over the map.

"Don't ask! It just seemed important, you know, if you get lost or something and happen to find the kitchen then you'll know where you are. Or something like that.... anywho. The plan! Me and Shukaku will be the ones to retrieve Naruto and Sasuke, you two," Kitsune pointed towards Tsunade and a still giggling Jiraiya, "You will be the look-outs so to speak."

"Look-outs for what?" Tsunade asked.

(Tsunade (aside): You're not helping Jiraiya! Pay attention!!

Jiraiya: But!! That, -snicker- map!

Tsunade: -beats Jiraiya until he stops laughing-)

"Look-outs for any other peoples on the permitted, such as oh... Orochimaru." Kitsune said sarcastically, "Or you know, I'm sure the chefs may be dangerous maybe you should keep an eye on them."

"Ok, ok fine. Stupid question, I know." Tsunade said trying to calm down Kitsune.

"Wait, I'm still confused... Kitsune..."

"Yes, Shukaku?"

"You..."

"Me??"

"You... _suck _at making battle plans."

"Ah ha...ha... I know ;-;...."

xoxoxoxoxox

"Nnnn..."

Why the hell was it so bright... oh yeah... morning.

Naruto flipped over and reached to his right, trying to find something to cling onto. When he felt an empty pillow and no head he slowly opened his eyes. How could Sasuke always wake up so damn early. Naruto rubbed his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a bit. He let out a sigh and drug himself up with his elbows before he found himself leaning against the wall Sasuke's bed was against (remember, Sasuke bed is just a mat (bed thing) on the floor so, no head rest).

"It should be a sin..." Naruto thought aloud, "To wake up this early. That guy's a maniac."

He looked around the room sleepily. Eventually bits of his memory returned. He grinned. Seeing Kitsune again was great. He really felt like, she was his mom or something. She had always been there for him and everything he did she usually watched over him while he'd done it. Though, maybe the things in his life weren't much, to him, they were his only memories, his achievements, something to hold onto when everything else is taken from you. Memories were a wonderful thing... but then again... they were hated, despised. Sometimes cold were the thoughts in the back of one's mind. Thoughts of abuse, mistreatment. The thought of being alone, over and over again. That same chill that runs down your spine as you recall each word said.

Even when the words aren't remembered as well, the feelings still can be felt as strong as when first dealt. Sometimes worse. Naruto hugged his legs to his chest... the pain was flowing back into his heart.

The thing about hearts is that when memory attacks, there's nothing to stop them. No way to stop your heart from recalling the pain of being left out and looked down upon. Just because you're different... you're different and it's something you can't help. What can someone do? When you're left out, in the cold and you curse the cold, you can only curse. But does it help? There are rare chances someone will help. But in a world, where you reject anyone who opens their arms, it's hard to feel any warmth, even when in the arms of the flame.

What can a child do? What can they do when they're kicked? They're too weak to help themselves when no one else will. And verbal attacks, that pain is much deeper.

Nothing can block out the sounds.

Nothing can stop that wound from bleeding.

And nothing can be your tourniquet, when you're dying inside.

xoxoxoxoxo

"Ok, do you see him?"

"Yeah! He's in the tower where we thought."

"Ok good, what about Sasuke?"

"Erm, no... I don't see him."

"Will you hurry up Kitsune! You may look light but –thud!- ... ow..."

"Jiraiya! I'm gonna get your ass for that, and next time it'll be more than just my foot in your mouth, bakayaro!!"

"Shut up both of you, you're not on bottom, poor Shukaku here is probably dying."

"Yeah, yeah... He can take it. I'm hurrying anyways."

Kitsune's eyes darted back and forth over the giant stone slightly blocking her view from the tower window. Shukaku had suggested a cliff not far from the palace to try and see if they could get a more... accurate landscape of the palace. Luckily they were able to see the tower that Sasuke's room was rumored to be located in. When Kitsune had a better idea of how to maneuver around the palace, Shukaku helped form a better plan. When they had their 'battle strategy' down, they started off.

Kitsune's eyes were wide with anticipation; there was nothing more she loved more than a challenge. The others were slightly alert, Orochimaru could be dangerous, though so close to a populated city, they doubted he would make any moves and blow his cover, but then again... he had a way of not giving two shits about the lives of others.

They reached the castle doors without trouble. Though, they had gone over a few choices of entrances, they found that perhaps using the front door would suffice. Though they ran into some slight trouble...

"You there!" Shouted the guards on the far left of the main door.

"Who?? Us??" Kitsune asked pointing to herself and looking around nonchalantly.

"Yes you! State your business at the Uchiha Manor!"

"We're er... the new help?"

"Very funny... I suggest you all turn back and leave to where ever you came from unless you want trouble."

"Huuuh..." Kitsune sighed, "You would be quite bothersome."

She looked over to Shukaku who only rolled his eyes, somehow he knew exactly what was coming.

"What!? How dare you, wench! You will not speak to a high serving guard such as myself with such disrespect!!" He shouted.

Kitsune plugged one ear which only succeeded in pissing the guard off even more. The second guard had already taken his place beside the other. The first guard was still quite angry and hadn't stopped yelling at Kitsune about how he was 'higher than trash like her' and should get total respect.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you." Jiraiya cut it, "But any man who talks to a lady that way is lower than filth."

Before the guard could protest, Jiraiya had grabbed both guards heads and slammed them together within a matter of a second. Kitsune grinned.

"Aw, Jiraiya, I'm touched! You called me a lady!"

"Don't let it go to your head," Shukaku said with a smirk.

Kitsune grumbled as the other three walked past her, not taking her glare off of Shukaku.

"I'll forgive you this time..." She muttered, "We have business."

Kitsune reached the doors and before anyone even asked how to get the doors open, Kitsune let out a growl and pulled back with all her strength. Her arms flew from her sides and the twenty foot high, ten feet in length doors flew aside as if they were confetti in the wind.

"People... I give you... Uchiha Manor."

xoxoxoxoxox

I REALLY tried to make this one longer!! I really hope you'll forgive me but like I said, wasn't ever in the mood to write/type/whatever. I was going to make this longer but it just seemed ok to end it there. And also... I'm out of ideas....

I seriously suck at writing rescue/'battle plan' scenes... it's just not my thing I suppose. Um... there was probably something more I wanted to say but I can't remember it so, goodbye for now. Please review!

Anukis

(PS this may seem selfish and lazy... but I don't ever really read through my stories... if something really bothers you, like a typo, let me know and maybe I can fix it for you. I never find any major errors in my stories, just a few grammar and spelling mistakes but nothing like, plot errors or something. So yeah, just to put that out there.) Later My Ducklings :)


	12. Techno Dance

BOW! I have updated! After, what? Almost two months and a threat from a friend xD!

THANK YOU TO ALL REVIEWERS –huggles!

Erm, usual everything's...warnings, disclaimer, etc. You people should know this by now (which I'm sure you do). Ok! Onwards since I'm too lazy to add anything else :3!

**Recap**:

_Kitsune reached the doors and before anyone even asked how to get the doors open, Kitsune let out a growl and pulled back with all her strength. Her arms flew from her sides and the twenty foot high, ten feet in length doors flew aside as if they were confetti in the wind._

"_People... I give you... Uchiha Manor."_

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

_**Chapter Twelve: Techno Dance**_

This place was big, to say the least. It had probably, seven... eight stories? God knows how many servants, chefs, maids, and other random people to make it look even more expansive. It was just, an all around huge place. And the plan? Well... they kinda... still didn't have a plan. They, in the end, decided to hell with the plan. They were gonna wing it.

xoxoxox

Itachi's chair had been thrown back in a matter of seconds. Sasuke was nervous. He'd never seen Itachi burst so suddenly.

"Where! When did you see her? Answer me!" Itachi must have seen the surprised in Sasuke's eyes because he backed down as quickly as he'd been fired up.

Itachi made his way to the window and looked over the small village. His breath now calm, Sasuke decided to speak.

"She was Naruto's friend... he wanted to see her and so I accompanied him to greet her." Sasuke said almost inaudibly.

"It's unsafe outside of castle walls..."

"I've been out plenty of times... I can protect myself."

There was a slight pause of silence, but nothing too uncomfortable. Itachi seemed lost in thought. Sasuke realized this may have either been a simple matter, or something incredibly important. Perhaps he'd never know if Itachi refused to speak...

"I too... met the Kyuubi..." Sasuke's eyes quickly flickered up to look at Itachi, "We talked last night-"

"Then you know that Orochimaru is up to something?"

"Silence. She told me foolish worries. I will not rely on the Kyuubi to tell me who to keep at this palace and who to get rid of. Though... did she give you evidence?"

Sasuke silently shook his head.

"Then there is none. I don't plan on wasting my time on foolish creatures such as the Kyuubi."

"Itachi! Orochimaru is up to something and you know it! You can't stand to be around that devil's spawn as much as I can't!"

"Silence! Leave now! I don't ever want to hear of such idiotic dilemmas!"

Sasuke's eyes hardened and he quickly spun around and exited the room. As soon as the door was closed a string of curses fell from his mouth.

"Well!" Came a bright voice from beside him, "That's no way for a young man to talk!"

Sasuke's eyes widened, "Kitsune!"

xoxoxoxoxox

Naruto, now bathed and dressed, began walking down the mountain of stairs towards the kitchen. He took his time walking down the stairs for fear of falling. Do you know how much that would hurt? Ok never mind... anyways...

He had almost reached the last step when he saw Iruka and Kakashi talking. Iruka held a piece of paper in his hand (probably a menu, Naruto thought) and seemed to be fussing at Kakashi over it. Kakashi simple stared off ahead of them almost not paying attention to the raving brunette. Naruto skipped down the rest of the stairs and greeted the two with a bright smile.

"Good morning!" He almost cheered.

"Morning... You seem cheery today." Kakashi said letting his eye slid to glance at the boy.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun! Have you had breakfast yet?" Iruka asked with a smile.

"No... not yet! But I'm heading there right now!"

"That's good. I believe Orochimaru was just beginning his breakfast before we left... he may still be there. I wonder why he didn't go to eat in his room like always? He's usually a very kept-to-himself type of person, usually eating in his room you know?" Iruka rested his hand on his chin and looked up at the ceiling trying to find an answer to his own question.

"Orochimaru?" Naruto pondered.

"Hai, he's the castle doctor. If you haven't met him yet you'll probably have to go to him eventually for an annual check up." Kakashi said.

"Oh..." Naruto started to imagine what Orochimaru may have looked like.

In Naruto's mind, doctors were kind people. But how wrong he was...

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

"Kitsune!"

"Hey-ya Sasu-kun! We've come to rescue you and Naruto!"

"...what?"

"Oh never mind... where's Naruto?"

"He was upstairs last time I saw him," Sasuke started, "But he's probably eating by now. It's almost nine..."

Kitsune nodded and then turned to Tsunade with a grin, "Told you marking the kitchen was useful."

The other four sweatdropped as Kitsune turned with map in hand towards the kitchen.

xoxoxoxoxox

Naruto entered the dining room cautiously. After all, someone he didn't know was in here. Not that he didn't trust Orochimaru (A/N: yet xD), but only that he didn't want to startle him. He opened the door slowly and stuck his head inside first. He looked around the room and was surprised when he saw no one.

'_Maybe he's already left...?'_ Naruto thought to himself.

Naruto stuck his foot inside the room and started over to the buffet. It was then that he saw Orochimaru...

Orochimaru stood by the buffet next to where the bucket** (1)** was. Naruto was suddenly frozen as he looked at the elder mans back. His long black hair reached down his shoulders and back, giving off a gleaming darkness even in the light. His skin was paler than any Naruto had seen before. His clothes were a grayish color robe with purple stitching reaching down to the floor covering everything except his hands and face. As Naruto stared at this eerie presence, Orochimaru turned around and their eyes met. Blue to an evil yellow.

It caught Naruto off guard when Orochimaru's lips turned upward in a snake-like grin, "Ah... you must be Naruto-kun..."

Naruto suddenly snapped out of his frozen state, "H-Hai! I'm Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto..."

"I'm Orochimaru, the castle doctor." Orochimaru greeted.

"A-Ah... I heard from I-Iruka and Kakashi..." Naruto said trying not to look frightened as he gave a small smile.

"Oh? Well then... you must know you'll need a check-up soon then? Nothing personal, I'm sure you're healthy... you certainly look it..."

Naruto shivered when he felt Orochimaru's eyes on him. He fell into a deep state of discomfort as he watched the snake-man watching him. Naruto finally summoned up the courage to move, he reached the buffet and grabbed a piece of toast, his previous appetite was lost. As Naruto began to nibble on his toast Orochimaru had moved towards an exit door, one Naruto hadn't traveled through yet. Just as Orochimaru reached the door, however, he turned and gave Naruto another unsettling smile.

"Naruto-kun? If you wouldn't mind, how about you come down now? The check up won't take long."

Even though everything within Naruto was screaming at him to say 'no', Naruto couldn't find the will to bring himself to it. He simply nodded, chewing at his toast, and followed Orochimaru like a lost sheep to the shepherd.

Only this sheep was going to the slaughter house.

xoxoxoxoxox

"Here we are!" Kitsune said happily stopping in front of two huge oak doors.

"Dobe... you didn't need that stupid map." Shukaku scoffed.

"What did you call me?"

"I called you a dobe, dobe. This is Sasuke's _house_, why the hell would he need you to direct him to _his_ dining room." Shukaku said giving Kitsune a cold glare.

"Whaa? Shut up." Kitsune said pouting, "Really Shukaku... you're always so cold."

Shukaku rolled his eyes as Kitsune stuck out her tongue. Jiraiya and Tsunade watched in amusement as the two demons bickered. Sasuke on the other hand was dead set on finding Naruto. Something didn't feel right...

xooxoxoxoxoxox

EH... that's all for now. Sorry for the shortness! There will be more later, my ducklings.

**(1)**: For lack of a better word, I used bucket as kinda like a trash can type of thing where people put their plates when they're done eating.

**_Thank you to Umino Ayame for sending me some ideas!_ **Though I didn't use them, they still helped me think of other options and also gave me another door to choose from later on :D! So thank you _so_ much for helping me out!

Naruto has met Orochimaru! What's going to happen now? And will Sasuke get to Naruto on time! ... Hell if I know.

Anukis


	13. Marked

Thank you to the few of you who _did_ review! It means a lot to me! Hopefully this chapter will get things rolling and be more exciting for you! Also, if you're interested there's a note on my profile regarding this story (GNMK). Please read it if you have time. Ok then, onwards!

Disclaimer/Warnings: Usual.

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

_**Chapter Thirteen: Marked**_

Walking into the kitchen seemed to go by in slow motion to Sasuke. He saw everything happen at once. The doors slowly creaking open in a sense that they knew something untold. The scents of the grand kitchen where what filled him next, a mixture of exotic yet familiar aromas. It was then that his sight came in, filling his view with the bright white and silvers of the room. The seemingly endless pots and pans lining the far wall, small refrigerators and then the larger ones, the exotic lobsters in their pen all came to him at once and he realized something was terribly wrong even though this was a perfectly normal scene.

Regaining his composure he began to slightly jog over to where Iruka and Kakashi stood observing the newly entered party with a question in their eyes. Why where they so far away when they were so close?

"Where's Naruto?"

His words came out jumbled. Tossed like the salad on the counter next to him. What was this feeling? It caused his heart to pound in his ears and his breath to hitch. Something akin to nausea rose within him. He held in his stomach as the words spilled from Iruka's mouth.

"He's in the dining hall eating of course. Orochimaru may be talking with him. I think I heard voices."

Before anymore could be said he had taken off towards the hall. No way in the seven hells was that bastard of a snake going to take _his_ Naruto. No way in _hell_.

xoxoxoxoxoxox

Orochimaru's face wasn't exactly emotionless… but it wasn't exactly clear on his feelings as Naruto and he walked down the endless corridor. Naruto tried not to worry… it was only a check up. It was bound to happen eventually right? So why was he feeling this? It was as if he was walking strait into a trap, but his body was possessed, it couldn't turn from the track it was following. Naruto just prayed the track would come to a dead end really soon.

As if on cue Orochimaru stopped in the darkest part of the hallway. Naruto probably would have walked right past the dark oak door had Orochimaru not pointed it out while saying a quick and quiet 'we're here'.

"Please, make yourself comfortable." Orochimaru said politely.

Naruto complied and sat down on what looked like a 'patient's seat'. He tried to act comfortable but this room, with its dimly lit atmosphere and eerie touch, gave him the shivers. Naruto watched with careful eyes as Orochimaru sat over at his desk and scanned his eyes down a list of some sort. He took a pencil and checked a few things off before setting down the sheet and looking up at Naruto. With another snake like smile, the questions began…

"So, Naruto-kun. How did you come to this place?"

"Itachi…-san, he found me."

"Ah… and then Itachi-sama must be your master?"

Naruto could almost hear the amusement in his voice, like he knew, but just wanted Naruto to say it…

"No…" He said quietly, "Sasuke is…"

There was a twisted smirk of content yet dissatisfaction on Orochimaru's face. He stood gracefully from his seat and made his way to Naruto's side.

"I see…" He leaned down carefully and began the 'check up'.

Naruto tried to block him out by looking around at the strange potions across the walls, but nothing could take his senses off Orochimaru's finger tips. They traced over his neck, turning his head from side to side. His fingers traced ever so slowly down Naruto's arms and to his hand. Naruto found Orochimaru gently caressing Naruto's small palm. He tried not to gulp, but it was inevitable. Looking over to Orochimaru he tried to act casual.

"Sensei?" **(1)**

"Shh… just checking for broken bones…"

If he was just checking for broken bones… why was his voice so… husky…?

Naruto didn't want this, but god it felt good. He barely heard when Orochimaru ordered him to take off his shirt. Naruto was about to comply but Orochimaru's impatient side took over. His hands slipped under the fabric and lifted up in one quick motion. Orochimaru's hands began to wonder over Naruto's bare torso… this wasn't just any check up. Naruto bit back a moan as one of Orochimaru's long figures brushed over Naruto's chest. Orochimaru's face leaned in deadly close to Naruto's, but Naruto barely had time to understand what was actually happening as Orochimaru's lips caught his own in a fierce kiss.

"God you're beautiful…" Was uttered from Orochimaru as the older man licked and bit down Naruto's neck getting closer to his goals every second.

Orochimaru's lips parted as he licked an area clean on Naruto's neck. Naruto was dazed, as if under a spell. The elder's eyes flickered with joy as his lips parted once more and snake like fangs began to descend onto the flesh…

xoxoxoxoxoxox

"NO!" Sasuke flung through the air pushing Naruto out of the way of the dangerous fangs.

As Sasuke pushed Naruto away and out of his trance, he felt a burning pain run through his left shoulder. He had gotten there just in time… almost a second too late, but now he was paying for it. Orochimaru knew who he now was marking, but it made no difference to him. Fangs sunk deeper and Sasuke let out a weak cry as he felt the snake's poison began to course his veins. The burning grew and grew until Sasuke thought he would burst from too much of the poison now crawling through him. As Orochimaru pulled away from the young Uchiha he gave out a sadistic laugh.

"My, my Sasuke… you are such a fool…" He muttered.

Sasuke's eyes flashed with pain as he crumpled on the floor next to the seat Naruto was in. Naruto, now finally waking up from his daze began to take in his surroundings. He had been put under a spell, similar to the ancient technique of glamour used by the vampire's eons ago. Naruto saw Sasuke's form on the ground and immediately was next to him, calling his name.

"Sasuke! Wake up! Orochi-…maru? What! What happened! What's going on?"

Kitsune, Shukaku, Tsunade and Jiraiya rushed into the room and as Tsunade and Kitsune helped Sasuke and Naruto, Jiraiya and Shukaku stood in a defensive stance front of them. Orochimaru laughed a sadist laugh before backing up from the group.

"You're far too late…" He laughed before a burst of green chakra enclosed him and he was gone.

xoxoxoxoxoxox

"You should have listened…" Kitsune said staring out the window of the expansive room.

Red eyes glowed from the other side, "Quiet, I don't need you to remind me of my failures."

Kitsune was silent, dull eyes looking out through the rain and deep into the forest, as if searching for something unknown.

"I… I am sorry that Naruto had to get caught up in this. I understand he is like your own kit." Itachi said with a sigh.

"Ah… I do cherish him. But it is Sasuke I worry for now. He has been marked with the Cursed Seal… Itachi-san this may be deadly to Sasuke and Naruto's future."

Itachi sat silently at his reading table. He glanced up to find Kitsune's worry-filled eyes staring back at him, "I understand…"

xoxoxoxoxoxox

Naruto watched as Sasuke's chest slowly rose and fell. His heart stopped at each pause between rises and falls. What if the fall was the last? What if the next rise failed to come? Naruto tried to shake the thought from his mind but the more he tried to rid himself of them, the clearer they became in his mind and the farther they drilled through his heart. Taking Sasuke's hand in his own he held the warm flesh to his lips. A wave of hope filled him as he felt the skin on his own and the waves of Sasuke's essence that seemed to flow off of him. Maybe things wouldn't turn out so badly after all.

A faint knock came from the door way. Naruto gave a gentle 'come in' and the door was pushed open lightly.

"Naruto-kun?"

Naruto recognized the voice as Kitsune's.

"Yeah?"

"Are you ok?"  
Naruto nodded. Kitsune slowly made her way next to Naruto's place by Sasuke. She looked down on the raven haired boy glad to still see the coloring on his face… a sign of life to humans. Her eyes traveled lower and she caught sight of the mark from Orochimaru that had now formed on Sasuke's left shoulder. Kitsune unconsciously reached out to brush the sensitive skin.

"He-He'll be ok, right?" Naruto's voice rocked.

"Of course…" Kitsune heard the uncertainty in her own voice but tried to keep Naruto steady on this wobbly balance beam he was now facing.

"What was that thing that Orochimaru… gave him?"

Kitsune hesitated then with a sigh spoke, "It's the Cursed Seal."

Naruto looked up slightly confused.

"Sasuke is trapped under Orochimaru's influence. There may be no way to bring him back to us… at least for now."

xoxoxoxoxoxox

OK! So, I know it was short but it was a quick update. PLEASE REVIEW! I'm telling you it helps me out SOO much when you guys take five seconds to review.

Please ;-;? Flames aren't enjoyable but I defiantly accept them (I'm not going to say I like them… who seriously does?).

And before I forget, I am truly sorry about the lack in updates. High school is difficult, I'm sure most of you know this. History is a bigggg obstacle. So please bear with me. Thanks a lot!

Anukis


	14. Eavesdropping On Demons

Konnichiwa once again! Thank you SOO much to the people who reviewed! I've even decided to take some time and –dun dun dun- reply back! I felt kinda bad for not doing so in a while! (btw! _175 Reviews_! I love you guys!)

Disclaimer/Warnings: Usual (Sakura's back… does that count as a warning o.O?), eh.. and maybe very slight Kit/Shu moments -.-;

Review Corner:

_**Ghostninja85:** Why hello again:D It took me a while before I decided to actually put the cursed seal in. I was actually going to leave it out originally but then I thought it'd help move the plot line a bit._

_**Umino Ayame:** ;-; don't worry! It will be ok!... I think! –insert devious authoress grin-_

_**Yaoilover S: **-starts fidgeting with your spot light-…-makes lights flicker- hey mom! Look what I can do! –dodges frying pan- eep! o.o yes.. less playing with lights, more typing. Gotcha. _

_**Natsuko K: **English was ok for me :D my teacher was awesome! She was really, really nice. But history on the other hand… -hisses at evil history book- ;-;._

_**Bitenshi:** :D I'm glad you liked it so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!_

_**Veeko:** Wheee! I got recommended! –feels special- Please keep on reading :D!_

xD Wow, that was it! . some of you are slacking off… lol just kidding! Anywho! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

**Recap:**

"_What was that thing that Orochimaru… gave him?"_

_Kitsune hesitated then with a sigh spoke, "It's the Cursed Seal."_

_Naruto looked up slightly confused._

"_Sasuke is trapped under Orochimaru's influence. There may be no way to bring him back to us… at least for now."_

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

**_Chapter Fourteen: Eavesdropping on Demons_**

Kitsune stretched her arms heavenwards as she looked out the window of the guest room Itachi had allowed her to use. Sasuke had been out for the past three days. Itachi had locked himself in the library trying to find out more on this 'cursed seal'.

'_Everything has a weakness…_' Itachi's words floated thorugh Kitsune's head.

"That's true…" She said to no one, "But that's something the owner of the seal must find on their own…"

"Still talk to yourself I see?" Came a voice from by Kitsune's door.

Kitsune laughed, "Ahh… I've been caught. Shu-kun, hasn't anyone ever taught you how to knock?"

"Hn, who teaches demons how to knock?"

Kitsune laughed a little as she turned to look at Shukaku. Their eyes met and both knew what the other was thinking… what now?

Kitsune gave another sigh and sat down on the window sill, "We can't do anything about it until Sasuke wakes up."

"Ah, I know. But when Sasuke does wake up… then what?" Shukaku asked sitting on a chair next to the window.

"Then we'll have to begin training Sasuke, and Naruto. Obviously."

Shukaku rolled his eyes, "It's not so obvious… you're the one who knows about these matters better than I."

"Hm. I guess."

"Then we'll have to train each of them… I'm assuming you'll be looking after Naruto?"

"But of course!" Kitsune smiled, "Naruto and you would _never_ be able to train together!"

Shukaku sweat dropped, "Eh, sure… but you know having only those two go out on this thing is kind of like suicide…"

"You're kidding right? No, no, no… they're not going out on there own! Tsunade, Jiraiya, You and I will all be going too!"

"But don't you think," Shukaku threw a glace to the door, "That one more medical ninja would be sufficient?"

Kitsune looked in the direction Shukaku had and suddenly felt the chakra on the other side of the door. Smiling, she felt that it was weak, but held potential.

"Well… now that they know our plan..."

Kitsune stood and walked over to the door. Opening it a figure fell through and landed stunned at the female demons feet. The girl quickly striated up and sat back on her ankles. Large green eyes looked up in wonder at the demon in front of her.

"Well, well… eavesdropping on demons, are we?"

"G-Gomen! I-I didn't mean to I just was coming to make sure you had everything in order but I-"

Kitsune waved her hand, "Don't worry, don't worry. It's not a problem."

Kitsune offered her hand and the girl took it thankfully. As Kitsune pulled the girl to her feet she asked her name.

"My name? It's Haruno Sakura!"

"Well Sakura-chan… this may just be your lucky day!" Kitsune gave a smile, "Do you know what a jutsu is?"

xoxoxoxoxoxox

Sasuke had awoken three days ago, four days ago Sakura joined with Tsunade to train, seven days since the entire thing had started. And yet Itachi wasted no time getting everyone ready for the battle lying ahead of them, though Itachi himself didn't plan on going. Sasuke had been eating in the kitchen after his 'awakening' when he heard Shukaku talking to Itachi about Jiraiya at the table. Jiraiya had headed off to hunt down Orochimaru and see if he could find where he was hiding. Though it seemed like an easy enough task… it was difficult to track Orochimaru through the woods.

"Jiraiya is still hunting him now." Shukaku said coolly.

"I see." Itachi replied, "Then what is the next thing you plan on doing?"

"Kitsune has suggested we take Naruto and Sasuke to train, seeing as Haruno-san has already began her training it would be fit that the boys also begin as soon as possible."

Itachi nodded, "Fine then. Where will you be going?"

"Not even I know. Kitsune had arranged that only she knows the location of this place… for Sasuke's sake, and for Naruto's."

"Ah…" Itachi was silent for a minute before turning to leave the kitchen, "Then please hurry back. I'm sure Orochimaru will not wait too long before striking again."

Shukaku shook his head, "On the contrary… he will take three years…"

Itachi whipped around to face the raccoon demon once more, "Three years? How do you know this?"

"When casting the Cursed Seal it takes three years to recover one's strength. That is why we will be gone for two and a half years precisely."

Itachi nodded in understanding before stalking off in the other direction. Shukaku waited until Itachi had gone before standing up from the table himself.

Without turning to Sasuke he began to speak, "Hurry and eat… we will be leaving soon…"

xoxoxoxoxoxox

Yes, yes. Short. I know. Megabyte me ;p.

Anywho, **_please review_**! I'm going to put the next chapter up ASAP! And since I don't have school Monday all the more time to work on it!

Anukis


	15. The Takeoff

Alright! Thank you to those who reviewed! I'm really trying to get these chapters out as quick as I can :D I know I hate it when people don't update for a really long time. It's hard to get back into the story. With that in mind, quicker updates may equal shorter chapters ;-; gomen nasai. But, Anywho, here is chapter 15!

Review Corner:

_**Yaoilover S:** xD you make me laugh! Hehe, yes… Orochimaru shall parish –hands raise to the sky and thunder cackles above her- MUWAHAHAHAHA!_

**_Ghostninja85:_** _:D I'm glad you like what I'm doing! Hope you enjoy this chapter as well!_

_**Momochi Zabuza: **lmao, wow! Naru-chan would be a pimp in my story if I had all those people after him xD! But maybe I can add in something on the side ;). I'm so glad you like my story!_

_**TheSunshineGirls: **Thank you! Here's your update:D Hope you like this chapter!_

**Recap**:

_Itachi nodded in understanding before stalking off in the other direction. Shukaku waited until Itachi had gone before standing up from the table himself._

_Without turning to Sasuke he began to speak, "Hurry and eat… we will be leaving soon…"_

Disclaimer/Warnings: I don't own Naruto. (Shonen-ai for everyone! xD!)

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

_**Chapter 15: Parting of Ways**_

The trees flew by him in a blur. How far could Orochimaru run in this weakened state? It wouldn't be long… it couldn't be long. Yet how could he have gotten _this_ far? Even Jiraiya was beginning to tire out. He began to wonder if perhaps he had already passed the hideout. What if he had run right by it? Jiraiya came to a sudden stop. Looking around him in all directions before he closed his eyes, Jiraiya focused his chakra. He _had_ to find Orochimaru. If there was anytime to find him, it was now. After five minutes Jiraiya had almost scanned the entire area within five miles of where he was standing. He was beginning to think there was nothing when a small amount of chakra caught his eye. While it was a larger amount than most animals around the forest, it was still almost too weak to be Orochimaru's. Never the less, Jiraiya took off in that direction. It felt like the object wasn't moving from where Jiraiya had sensed it. Feeling the wind sweep him along the trees, Jiraiya quickly advanced upon what he believe to be Orochimaru. As he drew nearer his pace slowed and he masked his chakra. His footsteps became silent as he jumped from tree branch to tree branch barely breathing so as not to make a sound. And that is when he saw his target. Orochimaru laid propped up against a tree, breathing in harsh gulps of air. Had he truly been that weakened? Kitsune had told Jiraiya that it probably would be no trouble killing him now… so then why did she want to train Sasuke and Naruto? All Jiraiya knew was that he wanted this bastard dead. Jiraiya jumped out from out of the tree to land in front of Orochimaru.

The cold yellow eyes turned into dangerous slits as Jiraiya approached…

He couldn't move, his body had given up and he was only half way to his destination. He never thought that someone would chase after him. But now that he was in this situation, it was inevitable. There was nothing he could do. He _couldn't_ move. Orochimaru gave a weak smirk as he glared up into Jiraiya's coal black eyes.

"You're too late…" Orochimaru said weakly, "Even if you kill me now… Sasuke will go mad looking for power..."

This caused Jiraiya to hesitate, Orochimaru saw this and his smirk widened and he continued on.

"I was going to use Naruto to get to Sasuke… but seeing as how Sasuke so eagerly volunteered… he'll be my resource…"

Suddenly Orochimaru felt himself being dragged upwards by his collar. Jiraiya bashed him up against the tree Orochimaru had been leaning on and growled.

"What do you plan to do with Sasuke?"

Orochimaru gave a twisted smile, "Why do you care?"

Jiraiya's teeth grit and his grip tightened, "Tell me."

Orochimaru leaned over and whispered into Jiraiya's ear, "I'm going to take over… and destroy Uchiha Manor…"

Jiraiya let go of Orochimaru's collar and backed off a bit.

"Sasuke won't give in to you." Jiraiya said, his eyes getting cold.

"Hahaha… want to bet on that?"

"Shut your mouth, snake." Jiraiya warned.

As Jiraiya began to speak again a figure leapt from the bushes beside the two. Kabuto appeared in his usual garb beside Orochimaru in a second. Ready to defend Orochimaru from Jiraiya if the Sennin decided to attack. Though Kabuto knew that Jiraiya could easily defeat him, he still took the defensive as he began to lift Orochimaru from the ground. Before Kabuto took off in the direction of the hideout Orochimaru spoke again.

"You've made a wise choice… Jiraiya… and Sasuke _will_ be mine…"

Jiraiya kept his head bowed and turned as Kabuto carried Orochimaru off into the darkness of the woods. He would be killed another time… another time…

xoxoxoxoxoxox

A heavy silence lay between Naruto and Sasuke as they packed away their belongings. Kitsune wanted them out of the castle as soon as they could be and so neither had said a word against her. But then again… neither had said a word to each other either. Had anyone else but Naruto and Sasuke walked into that room at that time one might fear being crushed by that silence. It loomed over them. So many unspoken questions lay in the air. Naruto's grip on his bag tightened as he looked over to Sasuke. Naruto didn't know what to say. He was thankful that Sasuke had saved him but he almost felt like he had betrayed Sasuke when he allowed himself to almost be… taken by Orochimaru. What was even worse was that it was _his_ fault Sasuke had gotten hurt. Naruto felt a whole inside of him eroding and become bigger with every thought of Sasuke that passed through him. It hurt so much…

xoxoxoxoxoxox

Sasuke threw another shirt into his bag as he tried to ignore the blond behind him. Naruto hadn't said a word since Sasuke woke up. Sasuke's worry over what Naruto thought of him grew. Did Naruto not want Sasuke to be around? Now that Sasuke was marked with this… this _unclean_ mark… Sasuke didn't want to be around Naruto either. He feared he'd dirty his pure angel. But how could he stand to not be next to Naruto… not say a _word_ to Naruto. It was driving him insane. He needed to touch his angels face… he needed to hear Naruto's voice.

As he shut his luggage bag, he turned to see that Naruto himself was almost done with packing. Sasuke couldn't bring himself to speak… even now.

"I-I'm ready…" Came the weak voice of Naruto.

Raven eyes met sky. And for a second, Sasuke broke. And that's all it took. He dropped his bag onto the floor. The material made a light thump as it hit the ground. Sasuke moved closer to Naruto. Naruto, who didn't know what to expect, backed up slightly against the wall. Though the look in Sasuke's eyes… that uncanny hunger… seemed to not frighten Naruto…

Sasuke placed a hand on each side of Naruto's head as the younger boy squirmed slightly.

"I… Sasuke?" Naruto asked meekly.

He felt his face heating up, he knew he was blushing by now. What he didn't know is how irresistible it made him look to Sasuke. Sasuke leaned down and blew into Naruto's ear.

"You're just so…" Sasuke breathed, "Perfect…"

Naruto gave a small gasp as Sasuke's tongue played with his earlobe. Nibbling then sucking…this is what Naruto had wanted…

"I'll never let him touch you ever again." Sasuke whispered into Naruto's ear.

Naruto gave a slight nodded as he leaned into Sasuke hand that had found it's way to the side of Naruto's face.

"Oi! You two ready yet?" Came Kitsune's voice from the speak-phone type system in Sasuke's room.

Sasuke grumbled and reluctantly moved away from Naruto.

"We'll be down in a second, Kitsune." Sasuke said pressing the button.

"Roger!" Came the perky voice before the faint click of the phone being cut off ensued.

Sasuke sighed and turned to face Naruto. He gave Naruto a small, rare smile before picking up his back and holding out his free hand.

"Ready?" He asked.

Naruto nodded and eagerly took Sasuke's hand, "Yeah."

xoxoxoxoxoxox

Quick update, ne? Please _review_! I'll be your best friend xD! lol, it was kind of hard for me to write this chapter though, I've got SoraXRiku on the brain :3.

Anukis


	16. Three Years?

GOMEN NASAI! –bows- Forgive me! It's been so long since I've updated and I feel like such a hypocrite… demo… I lost my black note book –cries- it held my plans for the rest of this story! Now I'm trying my hardest to pull these thoughts back out from my memory. The only problem is… my memory sucks ;-; gomen nasai. Maybe I left it over at a friends house or something but… eehh… this sucks. I wish I could find it! Pray with me to find it minna-san ;3! I won't give up! (PS I got bored and made something for all of you. Look for it at the end of this fic!)

**_Other (big-ish) news: _**It's my birthday tomorrow (teh 20th of March)! I'll be fifteen (w00ters):3

To the reviewers: 

bows- Arigato to those who reviewed! I'm trying to get this chapter out quickly so I'm not doing individual replies but I do have one question to **_Yuen-chan_**: No chapter 13? –blinks, looks at chapter 13, blinks, reads Yuen-chan's reply, blinks, falls over from confusion- Ah ha… please explain, ne?

**Recap**:

_Sasuke sighed and turned to face Naruto. He gave Naruto a small, rare smile before picking up his back and holding out his free hand._

"_Ready?" He asked._

_Naruto nodded and eagerly took Sasuke's hand, "Yeah."_

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

_**Chapter 16: Three Years!**_

Naruto inhaled as a fresh breeze blew over him. He couldn't believe that almost three years had pasted since he'd left this place with Sasuke, Shukaku and Kitsune. Things hadn't changed one bit. The swaying green trees, the beautiful endless blue sky, the lake just over to the west of the Uchiha Manor, the Uchiha Manor _itself_ hadn't changed. It still stood looming over the village below almost in a protecting yet fierce kind of way. Naruto could remember back to when he'd first seen the place. It was captivating… beautiful beyond worlds. It's grand, aged structure that gave that feeling of something… wise? Perhaps. It was just something Naruto couldn't quite describe. A grin took his face as his hands were tucked comfortably behind his head. It was time…

"Ne, dobe? Don't just stand there all day day-dreaming or else we'll leave you behind."

"Eh! I'm coming! M-Matte yo Sasuke!"

xoxoxoxoxoxox

"They've made it back… ne?"

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama. They arrived this morning."

"Then they should be coming here soon."

"Hai."

Kabuto's head was tilted as he bowed giving Orochimaru the information on Sasuke and Naruto's return to the Uchiha Manor. It had been almost three long years of recovering and growing for Orochimaru. He'd often thought of taking over the Uchiha Manor while Sasuke and Naruto had been gone… but he'd known that Itachi would be a problem. Jiraiya as well had stayed in the area and if he'd joined forces with Itachi would probably have little trouble against Orochimaru. That was why Orochimaru needed _Sasuke_. With Sasuke he could regain his previous powers. His powers had began to decline while he had been staying at the Uchiha Manor. That's why… he wanted Naruto to help him. Naruto would prove helpful in restoring his powers… but Sasuke was also quite a catch.

With Sasuke he would be able to get close to the Manor with ease. As long as when they came for him he killed off everyone and took Sasuke's body… no one would know. This way Itachi's assassination would be simple and then _he_ would be the heir to the Uchiha Manor… holding power over all in this area.

Orochimaru allowed himself to give out a chilling laugh.

It was only a matter of time.

xoxoxoxoxoxox

"They've gotten quite strong! It should be no problem for them to take on Orochimaru now." Kitsune said as she watched Naruto and Sasuke talking from a high window.

Itachi sat at his desk shuffling through papers as he listened to Kitsune talk, "I suppose then you will be heading off to find Orochimaru soon?"

Kitsune turned, "Hai. Soon. It shouldn't be hard to track down Orochimaru. I'm sure the snake is _waiting_ for us more than _hiding_ from us."

"Aa…"

Itachi sighed and stopped shuffling through his papers. Reaching up he removed his glasses and rubbed his sore eyes (A/N: Mmm Itachi in glasses x3 –drool- lol). This had been quite a day. Since Tsunade had left with Sakura, he'd been given the position of Hokage, temporarily at least. He never knew how much damn _work_ was involved.

"I'm sorry I won't be able to join you…" Itachi said quietly.

"Don't worry! You have enough to do. Shukaku, Jiraiya, Tsunade and I will all be going with Naruto and Sasuke. They'll be in good hands."

"I have faith in that. Will you be staying the night?" Itachi asked.

"Yeah… we figured staying here and resting up a bit would be wise before heading out."

"I guessed as much… then please, feel free to access anything you wish in this castle. If you need anything from the armory or weaponry help yourself. It's not like any of it will be used by this place for a while anyway."

Kitsune smiled, "Arigato."

xoxoxoxoxoxox

"And then when we come back we'll go out and get ramen!" Naruto said as he swung his feet while sitting on the small stone bench.

Sasuke gave a small smile as he listened to Naruto talk about what they would do when they got back from fighting Orochimaru.

"You sure seem confident…" Sasuke said propping his elbow up on his knee.

"Because I know we'll be fine!"

"Hn… I wish I could be as optimistic as you."

"Sasuke! You're just too negative! I couldn't… I _can't_ imagine what I'd do if you… if you got hurt." Naruto said sadly.

Sasuke looked over and lightly reached up to ruffle Naruto's hair, "Don't worry. I'll be with you no matter what, dobe."

xoxoxoxoxoxox

I know, I **_KNOW_**! It's short! You have every (and I mean _every_) right in the world to throw your left shoe at me! But in turn for it's awkward and kind rushed shortness I bring you a piece of my randomness! Here it is (dun, dun, dun!)… a picture of my room (drawn… for the moment… perhaps one day I'll give you photos! Lol… I heart my room) Go to the address I'm about to put in and just take out the spaces:

(put in the regular http: then two / thingys (won't let medo it) then put in:)img . photobucket . com / albums / v245 / Anukis / mehroom . jpg

(o.o lotsa spaces there…(remember to take them out! ;p))

OKIES! I love-ith you all! Please forgive the shortness of this chapter! If you don't feel like forgiving, then please, throw your left shoe at me ;-; (or if your bored or something o.o meanies x3).

Anukis

(PS! Excuse any grammar/spelling/whatever mistakes! I didn't read over it ;p)


	17. Staring at the Walls

Ahoy minna-san! Excuse my lack in updating but as I've said before, if I hadn't have lost that gosh-darn black notebook I would probably be done! –sigh- the life of an authoress is quite an interesting one -.-;. Especially the death threats from friends to update fics… you know who you are…

Ok well… I'd like to thank each reviewer individually but I honestly don't feel like it so... **thank you so much to meh lurverly reviewers though**! You all mean **_SOO_** much to me! This fic wouldn't be here without you guys!

One more thing! If there are ANY plot holes that you can spot feel _FREE_ to _ASK_ about them! Since my internet isn't really being nice right now and I'm weird like… me… I probably missed some parts in the story or something so PLEASE, _PLEASE_ mention anything you see or may want explained! It helps everyone in the end so, yes. Thank you so much!

**Recap:**

"_You sure seem confident…" Sasuke said propping his elbow up on his knee._

"_Because I know we'll be fine!"_

"_Hn… I wish I could be as optimistic as you." _

"_Sasuke! You're just too negative! I couldn't… I can't imagine what I'd do if you… if you got hurt." Naruto said sadly._

_Sasuke looked over and lightly reached up to ruffle Naruto's hair, "Don't worry. I'll be with you no matter what, dobe."_

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

_**Chapter 17: Staring at the Walls**_

Dusty brown hair was swept away from his face as Shukaku situated himself across from Itachi. The elder Uchiha had much less stress now that Tsunade had come back to take over as Hokage, but now a new evil loomed over the Uchiha Manor. An evil that seemed to ever draw closer towards them. While many where unaware of the possible danger they could be in, it still managed to bring a sense of lingering doom over the grand manor and vast town. Itachi knew what Shukaku was about to say, after all… it was the most important topic the two could think about at the time.

"Kitsune is finishing up a bit of last minute training, I suppose?" Itachi asked, his gaze never lifting from the book in his hands.

"Yes. That's correct. Depending on how long the boys take, we should be leaving quite soon."

"I haven't a doubt in my mind it will take them less than an hour." Itachi spat slightly, how dare he even suggest that the boys could handle a simple _bell_ catching task?

Personally Itachi thought the whole thing was folly… chasing after a bell? What was the true purpose? Surely there was more to this foolish training than trying to snag a bell from Kitsune's waist.

Right?

Xoxoxoxoxoxox

"Haaarrrder, Sasuke!" Naruto whined.

Sasuke gave a light growl as he dug his fingernails deeper into Naruto's back.

"Mmm, right there Sasuke…" Naruto purred arching his back into Sasuke.

"Ugh… are you two done yet?" Kitsune asked as she stood by the river.

"Ah… Yep! My back really was itching there for a second." Naruto said with a smile.

(A/N: Heh heh, gotcha perverts…)

Sasuke rolled his eyes before looking over to Kitsune waiting for her instructions. They were supposed to be having some 'final test' thing and he wanted to get it over with. He was starting to get antsy… something wanted him, _needed_ him to go to Orochimaru.

"Alright boys," Kitsune said clapping her hands, "I'm sure you'll both do fine with this test… I picked up the idea from an old friend… you're going to have to get _these_ from me."

She reached behind her and from her belt pulled out two bells. Naruto cocked his head in confusion while Sasuke just gave her a 'you've-got-to-be-freaking-kidding-me' look.

"Now, now… I know it _sounds_ terribly easy enough but I want you to remember. You're trying to get them from _me_." Kitsune gave a smug smirk and dangled the bells in front of them for a bit longer before sighing, "Well… let's get started then shall we? Catch me if you can!"

In a flash Kitsune was gone. Sasuke sat there for another minute before rubbing his temples.

"This is more stupid than you, Naruto."

"Yea—hey!"

"Come on. Let's go." Sasuke commanded before Naruto could start his protesting.

Kitsune watched from the trees behind them as they began to move out.

"This will be the most fun I've had in quite a while…" She said with a light smirk.

(…3 Hours Later…)

"I quit!" Naruto said pulling himself out of the river, his clothes soaked and covered with mud.

"Don't be a dobe, dobe. You can't just _quit_." Sasuke barked helping Naruto out of the river.

"Don't call me a dobe, bastard! That's the fifth damn time she's tricked us into falling in that damn river!" He said throwing his hands up into the air.

Sasuke rolled his eyes for what had to have been the fifteenth time while they were chasing Kitsune.

"Just because you got a little wet isn't a good excuse for quitting." Sasuke pointed out.

"What about that horde of _bees_ that chased us for half an hour!"

"Well--"

"And then that damn CAT! I think I'm going to have scars from that thing!"

"Listen--"

"And then the big pit! That thing had SPIKES on the bottom of it!"

"Naruto--"

"_Spikes_!"

"Naru--"

"She could have killed us!"

"—to…"

"I refuse to have my life put in danger by that stupid fox again--!"

Naruto's ranting came to a screeching halt as Sasuke's lips came crushing down onto his. Letting out a small sigh Naruto clung almost desperately to Sasuke's wet shirt as the taller boy's tongue invaded his mouth and made his stomach do flip flops. Sasuke sucked on Naruto's tongue for a moment longer drawing out a moan from the blond as he held Naruto close to him. Pulling away Sasuke gave Naruto a small smile/smirk.

"Naruto… would you just shut up?"

Naruto huffed, crossed his arms and glared as he pushed himself away from Sasuke, blushing.

"Good… now listen… All we have to do is think of her weakness…"

"What? But Kitsune has never revealed a weakness… not that I've seen at least."

"That's why we have to _think_ of one, dobe."

"Che! I knew that!"

Sasuke sighed, "Of course you did…"

Naruto's eyes suddenly widened and he got a devious smile, "Ne Sasuke… I think I just got an idea…"

Xoxoxoxoxoxox

Kitsune sat perched in a new tree munching away on the lunch she had brought to keep her occupied. As she chewed on the crust of her sandwich she looked around for the two boys. She'd lost track of them after pushing them into the river… again. They were so much fun to tease but her stomach felt like it was trying to eat itself as she thought lunch was in order. So, finding this nice spot in a tree she set watch for the two to come around at any time, most likely muttering curses from her last attack. Little did she know that the two said boys were only a few trees away, a plan already swirling in their heads as they watched the fox demon eat away at her lunch.

"You sure this is going to work?" Sasuke asked giving Naruto a slightly doubting look.

"I'm positive!" Naruto whispered giving Sasuke a thumbs up.

"Alright then… let's go."

Xoxoxoxoxoxox

Tsunade sat with Jiraiya, Itachi and Shukaku as they awaited Kitsune and the two boys return.

"This," Jiraiya said pointing to a map on the table, "Is where we believe Orochimaru is hiding."

"Not more than five miles away?" Tsunade questioned.

"That's correct," Came Shukaku's voice, "Pa-kun helped us trace him though we ourselves couldn't follow along."

"Pa-kun? Kakashi's nin-dog?"** (1)** Itachi asked looking away from the map for the first time since it'd been put on the table.

"The same… We'll be heading for this location as soon as the boys and Kitsune are done." Jiraiya informed.

"Indeed." Itachi lifted himself from his seat at the table and excused himself.  
As he walked to the door he hesitated, "All of you will be going then?"

"That's correct."

Itachi paused momentarily before speaking up again, "I… will stay here."

"You're not coming with us?" Tsunade asked shocked.

"I'm afraid that someone will need to stay here, isn't that right?"

"Well… I suppose that's correct. But aren't your guards enough?"

Itachi let out a coarse laugh, "My guards? They're a pitiful force… they would offer no resistance if something were to attack the manor. I'll stay here as I said."

No one questioned him again as they heard the finalization in his voice. Leaving the room, Itachi left the three to ponder their quest to capture Orochimaru.

Xoxoxoxoxoxox

Kitsune finished her ham sandwich with still no sign of Naruto or Sasuke. The only thing she'd sensed or even heard for miles where all those damn birds. They were almost never ending out here in this forest. Propping her feet up on the branch she was sitting on and placing her hands behind her neck she sighed. Maybe they'd given up?

'_Nah… like hell. Naruto might give up but I know Sasuke'd just tease him into not giving up._' She thought with a smile.

As she sat in the tree she barely noticed the little mewl coming from the base of the tree. When she finally looked down to the small familiar barking noises, a bright orange color caught her eye. There at the bottom of the tree was a little kit. An overwhelming compassion for the kit took over her and she flipped down off the tree to land next to the kit. The little fox barked and mewled at her, its large blue eyes sparkling in the sun light.

"Well aren't you a cutie?" Kitsune said with a small smile, "You've lost your mother haven't you?"

The little kit only continued to peer up at her with large adorable eyes. Kitsune's heart began to melt and she looked around to make sure no one could see her before giving out a squeal and picking up the young orange fuzz-ball. She giggled as the fox began to lick her nose and nuzzle against her.

"You're so cute!" Kitsune laughed oblivious to what thoughts ran through the young foxes head.

Xoxoxoxoxoxox

'_Muwahahahaha! Yes! Bow to my fox-cuteness!' _Naruto mentally snickered continuing to allow Kitsune to pet him behind the ears, '_If there's one thing you've always given into Kitsune-chan it's foxes…'_

"Well now… I wonder what I should do with you." Kitsune said setting the Naruto-fox back down on the ground.

Naruto flicked his tail happily and cocked his head like he was trying to understand what Kitsune was saying. He _was_ supposed to be a fox after all… **(2)**

Naruto glanced at the bells on Kitsune's waist as she bent down to about his height. As she was thinking to herself he made his move. Bounding from his adorable position on the ground he snatched the bells with his teeth and took off towards the river. He heard Kitsune shouting at him but she wasn't running at full speed… after all… it was just a fox. No need to speed excess energy… or so she thought.

Naruto stopped by the rivers edge and turned around to face her innocently with the two bells dangling from his mouth. She was walking towards him with an amused look on her face.

"Now, now… those aren't for you, kit."

'_Oh yes they are…'_ Naruto thought with a mental smirk.

From the tree above them Sasuke jumped down beside Naruto. Naruto tossed one of the bells to Sasuke. Sasuke caught the bell as Naruto transformed back.

"Looks like we win, Kitsune-chan…" Naruto said taking the bell out of his mouth with a smile.

Kitsune's face dropped as she realized how she'd just been tricked. She suddenly let out a laugh much like that of her true nature… a sort of fox-bark laugh…

"Indeed… you really are a trickster, ne Naruto? Guess that means I've taught you well…" A smile… almost distant, "Let's head on back boys."

Xoxoxoxoxoxox

Shukaku sat in the gardens of the Uchiha manor scowling at a flower. They'd been gone for about four hours now and he was getting bored. He swore he was going to go mad with boredom if they didn't return soon…

"If you glare at that flower long enough it'll wilt you know." Came a sly voice from above him.

Shukaku bent his head back to see Kitsune standing over him.

He growled, "About time,"

She smiled, "Hehe, sorry your _highness_." Kitsune teased, "But if you're done scaring the flowers then we're all ready to leave."

Shukaku gave her an 'I'll-let-you-live…-this-time…' look and picked himself up off the patch of grass he'd been sitting on.

"Fine. Let's go then."

"Yeah."

Xoxoxoxoxoxox

The darkness was heavy here. A darkness that seemed to consume almost everything it came across. It spread out for miles eating at the light trying to get through. This was the kind of air Orochimaru thrived on. This was what kept him going. This never ending darkness that consumed his heart… that was soon, so soon to consume the world. It was only a matter of time. He felt it. Sasuke was on his way. They would be escorting him… those blasted Sennin and those demons…

'_Not to mention Naruto-kun…_' Orochimaru thought to himself.

The blond was what Orochimaru feared the most… Naruto was the only way for the seal to be broken.

"Blast." Orochimaru mumbled pacing across the room, "If that boy figures out how to rid himself of the curse… I knew marking Sasuke wouldn't suffice very well…"

"Sir?"

Kabuto looked up to the man muttering with a look of curiosity.

"Nothing Kabuto… I'm just… tired."

"You need to rest."

"I need no such thing…"

"You looked drained. You know your energy will be greatly needed for them. There are seven coming… they will be here in a minimum of four hours. Please, rest. Leave them to me until they reach here… _if _they reach here."

Orochimaru looked at Kabuto's smirk-plastered face and gave a sigh.

"I leave it to you. But make sure that _they_ don't get to me before I take care of Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun…"

Kabuto nodded, "Of course sir."

Xoxoxoxoxoxox

"Well then… shall we go?" Asked Shukaku.

"Hold on." Kitsune said, "Have you forgotten so soon, Shuu-kun? Tsunade was training someone as well…"

Shukaku lifted an eyebrow, "Another brat?"

"Shukaku, this is no brat. She'll be useful to us unlike these two," Kitsune said pointing to Sasuke and Naruto playfully.

They both began to protest but shut up as Tsunade walked out with someone at her side.

"Alrighty boys… now we can go." Tsunade said with a grin.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked amazed.

"Hai. Nice to see you again Naruto, Sasuke-kun."

Kitsune smiled, "I've heard you've been doing excellent Sakura-chan! We'll be counting on you and Tsunade-san for our healing squad, ok?"

"Roger!" Sakura said saluting Kitsune with a smile.

Shukaku rolled his eyes, "Let's get going already."

Jiraiya tucked the rolled up map into his belt, "Alright guys… here we go."

"Hai!" The seven took off into the air with out another word.

…So it began…

xoxoxoxoxoxox

**(1) **I don't remember if Pa-kun is the correct name. All I know is that it's something _like_ Pa-kun and that I _think _he's called a nin-dog… maybe. If you know please tell me… I'm too lazy to go look it up… hehe.

**(2)** I know in some stories Kitsune and foxes can talk to each other but I've always seen Kitsune has a higher level than foxes (since she _is_ a demon) and therefore cannot talk to them… the end.

Meh. I wanted to make it longer. AND FORGIVE ME! I KNOW IT'S BEEN A LITTLE OVER A MONTH SINCE I'VE UPDATED BUT SCHOOL IS _TEH UBER-EVILNESS_! –bows- Gooomeeennn nassaaaiiiiiiii ;-;……

Well despite the shortness of this chapter I hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter will be more of a getting to Orochimaru's and the beginnings of a final fight! Until then minna-san!

Love,  
Anukis


	18. Note from Anukis!

**NOTE FROM ANUKIS:**

I'm truly sorry to those who thought this was a chapter. I just feel that this must be said:… -bows as low as humanly possible- **_GOOOMMEEENNN NAAASAAIII!_**

I would work on this a lot more! Believe me! I would dedicate my life to this and future stories if I could... demo... school is such a pain! And with the end of the year coming up my laziness increases with the time of finals approaching!

_To a few people_: NO! I am NOT going to leave this story unfinished. **I DEEPLY thank those of you who have continued to read AND review this story! **Your reviews mean so much to me and I only wish I could have EVERYONES feedback. I've noticed that since I've started this story I've lost a great number of reviewers. I don't know if this is from lack of updating, from sheer drop in excitement, or what. Which is why I need your reviews. TELL ME what I can do better and by God I'll try and do my best!

Finals are here, tommorrow they start(June 6 and 7, 2005) and I have been preparing a lot. I'm not going to lie to you, I haven't even started the next chapter. Yes! I know! I know! I'm a horrid authoress but I never thought that high school would be so utterly nerve racking! _I promise_ when summer comes this Tuesday for me I **WILL** start this next chapter and I hope to get it to you by the end of next week! I am making it a goal to finish this story over the summer! Just keep supporting me! It means a lot when I hear from you all!

Thank you so much again!

_Just a side note;_ don't feel like you have to review this. This is simply and note and not worth reviewing. If you have questions feel free to email them to me (or if you're lazy, then...what the hell, review, but I honestly don't care).

Talk to you soon and uh, tacos!

Love,  
Anukis


	19. I'd Never Leave You

Told you I'd update when summer came! And now it's here! I promise to work on this and I will try my hardest to get a new chapter out ever three weeks MAX. Also a little note; I'll be getting into Kitsune's past in this chapter, it's something I completely made up so no spoilers ;3.

**_THANK YOUS_**: SnowKitsuneX, sodense, TheSunshineGirls, Natsuko K, Umino Ayame, Ookamiko, mootzoot, Momochi Zabuza, hujin, Haruya, Veeko, demonsxtears, narutofan666, sissy, Bitenshi, ghostninja85, love-chibis, demon-flying, Yuen-chan, Jenniyah, Queen of the Paperclips, Itachi-rin:), DeAtHaNgEl-LaNeNdA, kazoua, Naruto Otaku, Alana-StarSugarCat.

KYAA! I lurve you all! I'm terribly sorry if I forgot you but I just went back about three chapters (to chapter 16) and up from there ;3.

**_To Everyone Who Reads GNMK_**: I've drawn a picture just for this chapter! It's of Kitsune :) BUT! You have to read this chapter first in order to understand the picture. The link will be at the end of the chapter. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto but I do own the characters of Baru and Bara-chan in this chapter :3.

**Recap:**

_Kitsune smiled, "I've heard you've been doing excellent Sakura-chan! We'll be counting on you and Tsunade-san for our healing squad, ok?"_

"_Roger!" Sakura said saluting Kitsune with a smile._

_Shukaku rolled his eyes, "Let's get going already."_

_Jiraiya tucked the rolled up map into his belt, "Alright guys… here we go."_

"_Hai!" The seven took off into the air with out another word._

…_So it began…_

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

_**Chapter 18: I'd Never Leave You**_

Harsh air whipped at Naruto's face as he landed on another branch and pushed himself off once again. Kitsune led the way with the other six in toe. They'd been traveling due North for about two hours now and there was still no sign of Orochimaru. They had only just reached the Hidden Sound, after all. Naruto's eyes hardened as he thought of the icy, watery snake. How could someone like that have such great power? It just wasn't right. The kind of power that Orochimaru possessed was simply too terrifying. The thought of Kitsune, Shukaku, Tsunade and Jiraiya helping them still didn't ease Naruto's wavering nerves. His eyes shifted to land upon Sasuke.

_Sasuke…_

Perfect… Sasuke…

Looking back at the past three years, Naruto realized how much they'd grown. Sasuke stood proudly though he had that damn seal and Naruto admired him for it. How many men could stand proud with something that heavy weighing them down? Not many… but Sasuke, Sasuke had courage. That was only one thing Naruto loved about Sasuke. There was also his steely gaze… Naruto loved to make the cold in those eyes melt. Sasuke's _smile_… something, Naruto thought, that made him swear he could die happy after seeing it. Naruto's eyes traveled to Sasuke's shoulder and as Sasuke jumped off the next branch his shirt lowered to his shoulders just enough for Naruto to catch a glimpse of a black swirl. He flinched. That stupid thing was meant for him. _Him._ But Sasuke had saved him from it's fate. Now that Naruto thought about it, had he even thanked Sasuke for that? _Truly_ thanked Sasuke for taking something painful upon himself, all for Naruto? He would… one day… he would tell Sasuke just how much he'd saved him… and not just from Orochimaru but from being so… alone.

xoxoxoxoxoxox

Kitsune had a firm sense of Orochimaru's position by now. They had made it three fours into the Hidden Sound without any troubles… now all that was left was to pinpoint Orochimaru's exact location and they'd get him. Oh, they would get him good. This was the last time Orochimaru would terrorize their lives. Without thinking much about it Kitsune slipped into a memory from long ago…

Flashback-

_Konoha, 673 AD—30 years earlier_

"_Baru-chan! Come on! We're going to get breakfast!" Yelled a young(er) Kitsune from outside of a small foxhole._

"_Kitsu-saaaannn… can't I sleep in just FIVE more minutes?" Whined Baru from inside the tunnel._

"_If you really don't want breakfast then fine," She stuck out her fox tongue and trotted away towards an awaiting Bara._

"_You're brother is being stupid again," Said Kitsune to Bara, a female young fox who (like Kitsune) had been orphaned as a kit._

"_Haha, oh Ki-chan! He's stupid everyday!" Chuckled Bara._

_At that moment, Baru, Bara's twin brother, trotted out of their home._

"_I'm here." He whined, "Can we just go get some food now? Please?"_

"_Baru! You retard! We're already leaving!" Laughed Bara from about ten feet away._

"_Whoa! I'm coming!"_

_The male fox caught up with Bara and Kitsune as fast as he could, "So what are we eating today?"_

"_How about a rabbit," Kitsune suggested licking her chops, "I haven't had good rabbit in about a week now and the craving is starting to kick in…"_

"_Rabbit it is then!" Bara said with a grin._

_The trio found a bush to hide in as they peeked about for any stray rabbits in the area. Kitsune suddenly picked up a scent._

"_Hey… I smell… something funny…" She said in-between sniffs. _

_Bara and Baru perked up there ears and their own noses went up into the air sniffing around for the scent._

"_Hey! I know that smell!" Said Bara._

"_Yeah… me too… smells like human…" Said Baru._

_The two twins began to back away from the smell but Kitsune had never smelt a… human… before._

"_I want, to see it!" Kitsune said with a grin as she began to make her way towards the scent._

"_No! Don't!" Whispered Bara, "They're evil, mean! It'll hurt you! Don't go!"_

_When Baru saw that Kitsune wasn't coming back he took off towards her._

"_Dammit Kitsune!" He barked chasing after her before the human spotted them._

"_Oh be quite Baru, it's just a bit of fun." Kitsune said turning to face him as he ran towards her._

"_Well, well, well…"_

_But it was too late…_

"_What do we have here? Two—no three kits? Barely even foxes yet, are we?" The cold voice snickered._

_Kitsune saw the look of horror on Baru's face and ever so slowly began to turn around to face the human. That was the first time she looked into the yellow, venomous eyes of Orochimaru._

xoxoxoxoxoxox

Sakura yawned. They'd stopped to take a break a few minutes ago. Kitsune had said she needed to rest. The fox had seemed a little out of it as she wandered off for a walk down to a nearby stream. Sakura stretched her arms high above her head as she looked up to the noon sun shinning happily away. She glared at the bright, hot sun and wandered over to a bit of shade underneath a tree. Plopping down onto the ground she looked around at the others. Jiraiya had pulled out a few piece of paper and began to write as he sat on a rock next to a few berry bushes they'd found. Tsunade was dozing off underneath a few trees next to Sakura. Shukaku, who'd been quiet almost the entire journey, was taking a nap, a very tense and alert nap, on a hill. Naruto laid out on the grass with that silly grin of his while he talked to Sasuke who sat next to him on the lush green grass. Everything seemed well… like they were still back in Konoha simply resting after a brief training session or a light mission. Even that sense of security still wasn't enough to put Sakura at ease. She was tense. She could see that Shukaku was equally as tense as she. Something just wasn't right… but what exactly wasn't right? She pondered to herself while watching a few squirrels run and play in the braches of the trees.

Was Orochimaru near? Or was it just the fact that she could feel this mysterious, untrustworthy air that seemed to follow her everywhere in this hidden village of sound…

Xoxoxoxoxoxox

Kitsune dipped her feet in the cool river water and sighed as the tension washed away with the current of the river. She laid back, her feet still submerged, and gazed at the endless sky. Why? Why were these memories she thought she'd left behind coming back…?

Flashback-

_His eyes bore into her skin, making her ears lay flat on her head and for her paws to start retreating on their own. Baru laid his ears back flat and bore his teeth, the trio could sense the evil aura of this man. Kitsune had backed down to where Bara was frozen in terror. Baru was still growling at the pale man when he decided to speak again._

"_Foolish kit… you are no match against me." Orochimaru made a grab for Baru._

_Baru jumped out of the way, but only barely. Bara lept towards the man, sinking her teeth into the flesh on his calf she clamped down and refused to let go. Baru took this time to lunge once more at Orochimaru, but this time he stopped in mid-leap. Orochimaru had reached down and tore Bara off his leg along with his own flesh, still warm and dripping in Bara's mouth._

"_Pathetic…" Came the mumble from Orochimaru's lips._

_Kitsune wasn't sure how it happened, but Orochimaru had taken Bara's neck into his hand and with a flick of his wrist a sickening 'crack!' emitted from the kit. Kitsune froze as she watched Bara's lifeless body as it was tossed to the side like a doll. Memories came flooding into Kitsune's head so fast that she almost passed out. Memories of Bara, of her smile, of her cunning… of just simply Bara… _

"_I told you… you're all foolish…" Orochimaru was now starting towards Baru… his yellow eyes already stunning their target._

_Kitsune then realized she was frozen. She tried to move but her body only sent shocks of pain through her. She fell to her side, panting, watching hopelessly as Baru bared his teeth in a show of rage. He leapt towards Orochimaru again and successfully ripped a good chunk from Orochimaru's arm. But as the young kit bit at Orochimaru's arm, the snake devil simply laughed and shook Baru from his arm. Baru flew from his hold and landed in the bushes not far from Kitsune. Kitsune was too terrified to even move her eyes anymore. She focused on one spot, a light color in the tree bark, as Orochimaru approached beside her to where Baru lay whining. _

'_Move…' She thought, 'Please move…'_

_But her body didn't respond, only weakened more and curled up inside of itself. Another sickening crunch could be heard from only five feet away from her and Baru's whining ceased. That was all Kitsune heard before her eyes went wide in pain._

_First came the memories, searing hot and running through her mind like dogs loose from the leash. She tried to block the faces of her lost friends but the more she pushed emotions aside the stronger and quicker they came. Her will less body on the ground began to stir as she lay wide eyed and staring at the feet of her friend's murderer. Another sudden wave of pain washed over her and a strange tingling sensation ran through her body. What was… happening? She suddenly felt the fur on her body leaving, the hair on her head growing. Her skin became pale, furless… she was becoming… a human…_

"_So you are different from the other two? I thought so…" Muttered smirking lips._

"_W-what's happening… to me?"_

"_You my dear are a fox demon… no wonder you were left all alone to die…"_

"_I'm not… no… I…" Kitsune could hardly speak, what words could be said?_

_She wasn't used to the feel of a strange orange cloth rapped around her body. Nor was she used to the nakedness she felt without her fur all around her. She looked down to her hands to see long fingernails, much like claws. Her yellow, cat like eyes widened as she brought her hands to her face and felt the smooth scars in her cheeks where her whiskers used to be. She was human… and now she was completely alone._

"_Your friends were useless… only holding you back." Orochimaru said as he picked a red flower from the ground, "They were obstacles you had to overcome. That simple."_

_He tore off two of the blood red petals and dropped the flower beside Kitsune._

"_You don't need them… even if you did, you'll only be alone now…" He whispered with a twisted grin, "Grow. Hate me. And maybe one day you can avenge your friends death, kit." _

_Orochimaru laughed as Kitsune still examined her new body. Then his grin twisted more as he caught sight of Kitsune looking at her lost friends. All her movement stopped as she gazed upon them. They were her family, her life… and now she had not been able to protect them._

_They were gone… her life was gone._

_Orochimaru slithered away with a final smirk as Kitsune leaned against a tree. She was alone. And she was weak. She had let down her friends and now she would pay for it. She would suffer. But she deserved it, or so she thought. And she would obtain revenge for her friends… even if it meant using her demon powers… just to kill the man that killed her life._

_A stray tear slipped down her cheek._

_She would kill Orochimaru._

Xoxoxoxoxoxox

Short (only about six pages)! But don't worry! I will have chapters up a lot faster now so it won't be as bad! Here's the picture I promised: www. Deviantart .com/deviation/19250188/ … remember to take out the spaces and add in the usual http thing at the beginning!

I really hope you guys like it! I wanted to draw and so I decided that drawing something for this story would be the best idea (think of it as a thank you for 200+ reviews :3). I'd been working with colored pencils in my art a lot more and thought that trying them out on Kitsune would be an ok thing to do. Tell me what you guys think x3.

Anukis

PS. Sorry about any grammar/spelling mistakes but I'm just too lazy ;p


	20. Snake Eyes

Ahoy! I haven't got much to say o.o… that's a first. xD Oh well… I hope you like this chapter and please continue to review! Feel free to point out any mistakes or questions you may have :3 they help me to become a better authoress (which means easier reading for you guys)! Oh! There is something I'd like to throw in; ok. So Orochimaru, we're going to say, is drained of his energy after giving Sasuke the cursed seal. It requires three years for his strength to recover. That's why Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura trained for only three years and are now going to find Oro. Hope that may clear up some things o.o….

Review Corner:

_**Itachi-rin:** xD yes. I finally updated. Hehe, like I've said before, I hope my updates will be quicker than they have been now that summer is here. Thank you for all of your reviews!_

_**TheSunshineGirls:** :3 yeah… it was short. I just needed to get that part out while it was fresh in my mine. Making up Kitsune's past was surprisingly easy but I wish I could have added in more 'evilness' to make it stand out more. :D Thank you for your reviews!_

_**DeathAngel-Lavenda:** x3 Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it._

_**Ky0Kichi: **Lol, we're all perverts at heart xD. Thank you for your reviews :3._

_**Azamiko: **I'm not really sure what part you're talking about but I didn't mean actual ninja missions, just stuff to help them train to defeat Orochimaru. Soo… I guess I didn't really mean to make it seem like Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were ninja, just trying to stop Orochimaru. I guess that could make them ninja ; eh heh… sorry. And I know I didn't say that Tsunade was Hokage but I did _eventually_ so… nyah x3. I guess I always thought of Tsunade as like, ruler of the country that the Uchiha Manor is in (Konoha) so she just held an overall power over the land or something… yeh. I think that helps a little. :) Sorry again. Thanks for your review._

_**Alana-StarSugarCat: **Hehe :3. Yes. And thank you again for your last review! I'm glad you like this story._

_**Rosemarykiss: **xD You and a lot of other people, haha. Yeah, I'll try and update more, I promise :3. Thank you for your review!_

_**Insert smiley face here because this site is stupid and won't let me: **xD Yeah! Now that you mention it I did kind of make Orochimaru seem sort of like Itachi there. Haha, whoops. Well… I don't really think there is anything wrong with Orochimaru . he's just evil. :3 Maybe we'll see later, ne? Thanks for your reviews!_

_**AxFaTaLxiLLuSioN: **Your name is hard to type xD (I think I got it right though :3)! Sorry just had to point that out. Argh! You caught me, lol! I noticed that after I had posted it but um… I'm lazy so I didn't change it v.v… I'm such a bad person. Oh well, his um… eyebrow-bone-area thing rose :3. Yeah… hehe, thanks for your review._

_**OokamiHanyouGurl: **Haha, thank you for all of your reviews! And thanks for helping me out with the "Kyuubi" thing :3 I understand it a lot better now!_

Your reviews mean so much to me! Thank you for helping me out with things I may have missed or just giving me encouragement :3. I lurve you all –huggles-!

**_Pairing Update_**: Slight one-sided OroSasu in this one (if you squint)… all other pairings still the same.

**Recap:**

_Orochimaru slithered away with a final smirk as Kitsune leaned against a tree. She was alone. And she was weak. She had let down her friends and now she would pay for it. She would suffer. But she deserved it, or so she thought. And she would obtain revenge for her friends… even if it meant using her demon powers… just to kill the man that killed her life._

_A stray tear slipped down her cheek._

_She would kill Orochimaru._

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

**_Chapter 19: Snake Eyes_**

Not but five miles away from where Naruto and the others were, Orochimaru sneezed.

'_Someone must be talking about me…_' Thought the dark haired man **(1)**.

He shrugged it off and sat down in a dark-wood chair in his underground base. Sitting amongst the candles he had lighting the dark room he began to ponder when he should go back to the Uchiha Manor. His strength had returned since giving the cursed seal and now he was ready to begin his plan…

He had waited quite a long time to gain control over Uchiha Manor. He'd began working there under Itachi to gain information. Information on the weaknesses of Uchiha Manor and of one Uchiha Itachi. It had been harder than he'd imagined. Getting the weak points in the palace had been a synch. By observing the stone structure and base Orochimaru easily found the weak stones and points throughout the castle walls. But Uchiha Itachi was not as easy to observe as castle walls were. By becoming the Manor's doctor Orochimaru was able to observe Itachi's bone structure **(2)**. Itachi had a weak point in his left knee and a few others in his arm but the points were small. This made Itachi a difficult one to overcome. Sasuke was a different story. When Orochimaru heard that Sasuke would also be under his care a different plan came into mind. If he could get to Sasuke then he could get to Itachi… and in turn, the possession of the powerful influence of Uchiha Manor.

But Sasuke proved a trouble to get to as well… Sasuke had trusted Orochimaru less than Itachi did. It was hard to break through Sasuke's rough exterior and find his weakness. So far as Orochimaru new, Sasuke's bone structure was much like that of Itachi's. Few weak points were within the solid Uchiha genes. Kabuto helped Orochimaru run tests on bone marrow, blood samples and many other DNA tests but nothing could be found that would take down either Uchiha physically. Orochimaru began to contemplate other ways to 'break' the young Uchiha. Taking Sasuke wouldn't be too much of a challenge, and after getting under his skin and into his emotions, Itachi would be the next to fall. Orochimaru grew more and more impatient and tempted to bring his plan into action when that fateful day came of Naruto's arrival.

Naruto had managed to break under Sasuke's skin with a glance. When Orochimaru saw this, he new that Sasuke wouldn't want Naruto anywhere near the 'doctor'. This made him begin to think of other, more devious ways to get to the power of the Uchiha Manor. The cursed seal wormed its way into Orochimaru's plans. The plan took off in Orochimaru's mind as genius. If he marked Naruto, Sasuke would become desperate for Naruto to return from Orochimaru to the point at which Sasuke would most likely give into Orochimaru's wishes. But, since Sasuke himself had been given the cursed seal, Orochimaru's plan would likely drag both boys in either way. With Sasuke and Naruto's combined and trained powers under Orochimaru, taking care of Itachi would be child's play. With the power of the Uchiha Manor under his wing with the mysteries of the Sharingan, Orochimaru would be unstoppable and Konoha would be his to take. And with the strength of Konoha, came the world.

Orochimaru allowed a sly smirk to grace his lips as he thought over what was to come oh-so-soon. A knock came from the doorway…

Xoxoxoxoxoxox

"Kitsune-san?"

Kitsune sat next to the river watching the fish hungrily as they jumped upstream and swam gracefully along.

"Kitsune-san?"

Oh what Kitsune would give to catch one and just play with it for a while before biting off its head. She felt her primal instincts kicking in and she licked her lips. Just one juicy fish and she would be all set…

"KITSUNE-SAN!" Shouted the pink haired shinobi next to Kitsune.

"EEH?" Kitsune lost her balance from her spot next to the river and fell to her side.

"Gomen, Kitsune-san. You were spacing out and we're getting ready to leave…" Sakura said trying to explain her actions to the slightly ticked fox demon.

"Aah… well then I guess I'm ready. Ikuzo." **(3)**

"Hai."

The two joined the others at the campsite/rest area and the group checked to make sure they didn't leave anything behind. Jiraiya noticed that one of his Icha-Icha Paradise books had slipped out of his coat.

"Nooo!" He yelled and jumped over to the poor, defenseless por—er… book.

As Jiraiya leaned down to pick up the book his defenses picked up a kunai flying at him. He ducked down, picked up the book and rolled to the side. He faced the direction of the kunai's attack.

"Show yourself." Jiraiya shouted towards the shadows.

A soft, dangerous laughter came from the bushes, "Well, well… who are you to command me on foreign soil, ne?"

Jiraiya was silent as the rustling in the bushes approached the group. The others assumed an offensive position waiting any possible future attacks. A tall, bulky figure immerged from the shadows. There stood a man about six feet two inches with a bald, gleaming head. His eyes were black, all black, no white could be seen in those eyes. Down the sides of his face was a scribbled kind of kanji that read "Power," "Death," "Hate," and "Malice,". He wore a black and navy coat that covered from his neck down to his feet. The coat was loose, easy for hiding things under. His face twisted up in a evil grin as he looked over the group before him.

"This is the best Konoha has to offer? Tsk, you'll all be so boring to Orochimaru-sama…"

"So you work for Orochimaru?"

"Yes. I've worked under Orochimaru for a long time and he has taught me everything I know… none of you stand a chance," He skimmed them again and his dark eyebrows twitched in amusement as he looked at Sakura's slightly frightened face, "You can't be serious. What's this little girl doing here?"

Sakura suddenly puffed up in defiance, "I'm not a little girl."

A gust of wind later the man stood his full height behind Sakura, a deadly smirk on his face, "That so girly?"

Sakura quickly turned. Kitsune and Naruto, who were standing by Sakura, pulled her back a bit and moved farther away from the unknown man. Sakura was reluctant to back down from the man. She was eager… eager to test her new power. She hadn't spent three years training for nothing! As she was pulled back with the group they began to talk. Jiraiya was the first.

"Let me stay here and take care of him… the rest of you can pass ahead. That way we won't need to waste time getting to Orochimaru."

"Will you be ok by yourself? We still don't know his full power…" Tsunade whispered back.

"I'll be fine. It's not like this isn't anything I've handled before. So just quickly, go ahead and--"

"No."

"Nani?" Jiraiya asked, startled by the small voice.

"No… please. Let me fight him." Sakura looked up at Jiraiya with a fighting spirit in her eyes.

"I don't know, Sakura…"

"Please! I didn't spend those three years with Tsunade-sama doing nothing! Tell them Tsunade-sama! I can take him." She protested self-confidently.

All eyes went to Tsunade who simply sighed and nodded, "She is ready… for this kind of battle… I think it will be good for Sakura to fight him."

Sakura brightened up with a smile, "Thank you. Now please, go!"

The others nodded and with that they were off. Sakura calmed her smile into a small smirk.

"Oh? So you are going to be my opponent? How foolish…"

Sakura smiled sweetly, "We'll see…" **(4)**

Xoxoxoxoxoxox

"Come in." Ordered Orochimaru when he heard the knock from the door.

Kabuto entered and gave a low bow, "Orochimaru-sama."

"What is it?"

"We have news from Seeka. He has spotted the group not far from here. He will be challenging them."

"Seeka… that fool…" Orochimaru spat, "How far are Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun's little friends exactly."

"We've estimated about five miles, Orochimaru-sama."

Orochimaru's face twisted into a sick grin, "Perfect."

End Chapter 19

Short! Short! I know! But my plot is moving! –cackles-

**(1) **Usually when someone sneezes it is said that some one is talking about them xD hence the reason why Orochimaru sneezes after Kitsune has said that she would kill him. Yes, my lame attempt at humor….

**(2) **When I thought about this in my head I was like "Yeah… Orochimaru checkin' out Itachi's bone structure…" and then I thought about it and was sssoooo tempted to write something yaoi-ish involving that xD.

**(3) **Ikuzo Let's go

**(4) **I like Sakura. She was sort of "ehh…"-ish in the beginning chapters of 'Naruto' but as the manga has gone on she's gotten pretty cool –nod nod- :D While she can still be annoying as hell she's a lot better now then she was so… I like making her kick-ass and spunky in meh stories.

I will try to add in more SasuNaru-ness in the next chapter -sigh- I've noticed that the recent chapters have been lacking yaoi-ness.

**Please review, or _else_**… _or else_… I don't know! But it will be _baaddd_…. xD

Anukis


	21. Past the Point of No Return

Nyah… chapter 20 time! (Well… 21 until I decide whether or not I'm going to take off that note thing…) I'm surprised! This story seems to be getting popular o.o… I was on Deviant Art and someone who's SasuNaru doujinshi I had been commenting on knew about GNMK. I was like, "Whoa…" since I figured this story was only known by like… seven people… ;-; you all spoil me so…

And don't you all love how I totally ripped the name of this chapter off of 'The Phantom of the Opera' song? xD I thought so…

Review Corner:

_**Itachi-rin:** xD Hai, Orochimaru is scary like that. About the chapter twenty that you saw last time I updated, I had some issues putting up the last chapter so I put it up twice on accident and that's what made the alert thing say I had posted chapter 21 already. Hehe, gomen, I wish I could update that fast x3._

_**OokamiHanyouGurl: **Haha, I know. Orochimaru sneezing seems so different but it was in my mind so I figured 'what the hey…' :3._

_**Alana-StarSugarCat:** Squee is it really that good? Haha, I still think it could use some work –nod nod- I'll try my best!_

_**Ky0Kichi:** Hehe, "E" works for everything, ne?_

_**Chocobaby: **Haha, I like your name x3. I'm glad you like the way I describe Orochimaru, I try to make him freaky cuz he can be… a lot… _

_**Hibiskus: **Wai! xD Your review made me laugh. And don't worry! Itachi will not be doomed to sit at the desk the entire time. Haha, I could never do that to Itachi (he's too cool to leave out of the action x3). He'll either be in this chapter or the next… probably this chapter…I haven't really decided yet :p. Thanks for your support :3._

_**Ookamiko: **I'm so violent to myself o.o… xD. I'm glad you don't think the chapters are _that_ short (still short, but not enough for you to throw a shoe at me or something, hehe). Yay ;3._

_**Insomiak: **(Reviewed Chapter One) Haha, thank you. I hope you'll continue to read._

Thank you all! I love you (not in a weird way… well… maybe! xD you never know with me…) Haha, thank you all for your reviews, support, advice and ability to make me laugh every once and a while!

**Warnings: **slight Itachi OOC-ness xD

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, but I _do_ own Seeka ;p… take that.

**Recap:**

"_We have news from Seeka. He has spotted the group not far from here. He will be challenging them."_

"_Seeka… that fool…" Orochimaru spat, "How far are Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun's little friends exactly."_

"_We've estimated about five miles, Orochimaru-sama."_

_Orochimaru's face twisted into a sick grin, "Perfect."_

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

_**Chapter 20: Past the Point of No Return**_

Dodge. Block. Punch. Block. Dodge. Punch. Breathe. It was all Sakura could do against this guy. Seeka. She had been fighting him for only a few minutes but she was already starting to get the pattern of his attacks. Jumping backwards she avoided another one of his punches. Getting hit by his fist would mean a world of pain. Each of his knuckles was covered in a silver kind of wrapping guarding his skin and making his punches even heavier than normal. If she could just find his weak point now…

She skidded behind him and threw a kick to the back of his head. Bam! Solid hit. But it only served in making him angrier. He turned to face her and cried out as he lunged for her retracting leg. She couldn't pull her leg in fast enough from her kick and it ended up getting caught. He jerked her up and swung her towards the nearest tree. Sakura felt the wind flying past her until she hit the bark with a loud crash.

'_Damn it…'_ She thought coughing up a little bit of blood, '_Guess that wasn't his weak point…'_

Looking up from her heap on the ground she saw him advancing on her. She looked over his entire body, there had to be some sort of weak point… some sort of bone that was just waiting to be broken. She looked over his legs; the armor covering them wouldn't be any good. The face, his face was basically covered as well, that stupid armor must be covering him every where. Even with her almost super-human strength, she hadn't been able to make a dent in the chest armor when she had punched it before…the black cloak that Seeka wore made it hard for Sakura to determine where to hit.

'_But… there has to be some weak point. There always is. If I can just find the spot on his armor that is most worn down or the thinnest then maybe I can break it. It's worth a shot…'_ She stood quickly and dropped back into a fighting stance continuing to look for a point to break.

Looking towards his mask once more she saw it.

"Time to die..." The guy laughed.

Sakura smirked. '_More so than you think…'_

Jumping up she flew towards his face and stretched out her fist. This was it.

xoxoxoxoxoxox

Naruto looked back from the spot they had just left from.

"Ne, Sasuke? Do you think Sakura-chan will be alright?"

Sasuke looked over to the blonde, "Of course, dobe. You shouldn't doubt her like that. Anyway, we should start to focus more on ahead of us. Orochimaru's palace is just up ahead…" **(1)**

Naruto nodded and looked towards where they were headed. Sure enough, there was Orochimaru's palace. It was small looking from the top. A simple entry way made of some sort of gray stone. About thirty steps plunged into the ground before leading onto a dirt pathway that went into almost complete darkness. The group stopped a little before the hideout to look and make sure there were no traps set up for them. Seeing none they boldly approached the entrance.

"Think there's anything down those steps waiting for us?" Kitsune asked suspiciously.

"Who knows?" Jiraiya said crossing his arms looking as if in deep thought.

"I'll go." Shukaku offered and before anyone could say anything he'd already begun to travel down the steps.

Collectively everyone held their breath as he took each step with a confident pace. He kept his guard up after each step and did not let it falter after reaching the bottom. Shukaku looked around to make sure nothing was lurking in the shadows. After conforming that the coast was clear he motioned for the others to follow. They did and soon the small group of six stood at the bottom of the stairs staring into the darkness that awaited them.

Kitsune grinned trying to lighten the mood, "Well! Shall we?"

xoxoxoxoxoxox

"It would appear that our guests have arrived." Orochimaru hissed as he sat in his dark room.

"Orochimaru-sama? Would you like me to begin our plan?" Kabuto asked.

"Yes."

"Then it shall be done." With a bow Kabuto exited and started down a dreary hallway.

A few doors down Kabuto turned to his left and entered a room with many screens and computers that clicked and whirred as they monitored the area around and inside of the palace. Kabuto walked over to the screens and pushed a few buttons before looking up to the screens. He gave a smirk, they would have trouble getting anywhere now…

xoxoxoxoxoxox

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

He was bored…

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Not just bored… _booorreeddd…_

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

"Uchiha-san?" There was only one thing to do in these kinds of situations.

"Hai, Gaara?"

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

"Would you _please_, stop tapping that god damned pen?"

"Hn."

_Tap. Ta--._

And that was to annoy the hell out of anyone around. Itachi gave out a sigh and turned his chair to face the window behind his desk. This wasn't for him. If he had to sit in this god forsaken office for another twenty minutes he thought his head was going to explode. He should be out there, who the hell was Tsunade to put him in charge of not only his work but _her_ work as well?

'_Ahh… that's right. She's a Sennin… damn her.'_

As soon as this was all over he was going to get someone to do his paper work for him. That was for sure.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

A smirk crossed Itachi's face as he saw Gaara twitch with each light tap on the desk. He shook his head; he shouldn't piss off Gaara too much. He'd wait and bother that Ino girl later… probably…

He stopped, '_Chotto matte…' _He smirked.

"Perfect…"

Gaara turned around from his place rearranging books on the shelf, "What was that?"

"How would you feel about a raise?"

Giving Itachi a blank look he stopped his movements on the ground, "Go on…"

"Get that Ino girl and Shikamaru and bring them up here. I have a job for you three."

Well… it was one way to get out of paper work…

Xoxoxoxoxoxox

Taking another tentative step, Sasuke felt the soft dirt underneath his feet as he walked down the dimly-lit corridors. He was clutching onto Naruto's hand. Down here he didn't trust anything…

Which was fortunate for them both because what happened next through everyone off balance. The ground shook and the walls began to move.

"What the hell?" Tsunade shouted as she tried to balance herself by leaning against a wall.

Kitsune let out a yelp as she felt herself falling into the ground. Shukaku looked over and saw Kitsune's shocked face before reaching out and grabbing her hand. He pulled her towards him but the ground shook violently once again and he tumbled into the pit with her. Naruto tried calling out to them but his voice was drowned out by the rumbling all around them. Tsunade and Jiraiya had already disappeared and were no where in sight. Sasuke had pulled Naruto close to him and was shouting in his ear to not let go as they stumbled along the path as best they could. They about to go back out of the palace until the earthquake type commotion stopped but their way was blocked when a giant stone followed by a bolder fell down to cover the entrance. Sasuke pulled Naruto along next to him as the rumblings died down and refused to let go of the blonde's hand. Soon enough the rumbling had stopped. The two ninja's breathed a sigh of relief.

"Think it's over?" Sasuke asked.

"I really hope so."

A sudden '_bang!'_ came from behind them.

"Now what…" Sasuke muttered looking behind them.

The two watched wide eyed as the bolder began to shift and wobble in its spot.

"No way in hell…" Naruto groaned as they watched the bolder.

The bolder stopped and the two almost breathed a second sigh of relief but had no time since the bolder suddenly began to roll towards them.

"SON OF A BI--" Was the last thing Naruto got out before being yanked in the opposite direction by Sasuke.

"Run now, swear later, dobe!"

"Fiinnee! But you totally owe me ramen for this, bastard!"

"Like hell I do, baka! It isn't my fault Orochimaru put that damn bolder there."

"It _is _your fault that you didn't let me jump down the hole after onee-chan and Shukaku though!" Naruto protested.

Sasuke would have rolled his eyes if he wasn't trying to concentrate so hard on running, "Whatever, just keep running."

The two kept at a sprint with the bolder about ten feet behind them before Naruto's eyes widened.

"Uhhh… Sasuke? We have a major problem!" Naruto said pointing in front of them.

Sasuke looked up ahead and sure enough… there was a dead end.

"What the hell does Orochimaru _do_ in his spare time!" Naruto yelled.

"Apparently the same thing your brain is good for…" Sasuke yelled back.

"What?"

"My point exactly."

"Hey! Screw you!"

"Gladly."

"NO! I didn't mean it that way! Argh! You bastard! You owe me a lot of ramen after this!"

"Look, dobe, stay behind me." And with that Sasuke stopped.

"SASUKE! What the hell do you think you're doing!" Naruto stopped to look back at Sasuke but noticed that even if they did keep on running they were already about four feet away from the dead end.

Naruto's eyes widened as the bolder got closer and closer. He ran over to Sasuke's side and grabbed his arm.

"Sasuke! Come on! If we try and fit into the corners or something then we--"

"Dobe! Get back! I know what I'm doing!" '_I hope I know what I'm doing at least…'_

Naruto didn't budge so Sasuke pushed him back far enough until he was at least a good three feet behind him.

'_Let this work…_' Sasuke prayed before grabbing his left arm with his right hand, "Chidori!"

The bolder got closer and dirt began to fly towards them as it flicked off of the giant mass.

"SASUKE!"

Sasuke ignored Naruto's cries and flung his left hand forward. There was a giant explosion that seemed to echo in Naruto's ears before bits and pieces of the bolder flew around the room. Naruto shielded his eyes and fell back to protect himself from the exploding rock. Dust had stirred and flown into the air, clouding Naruto's vision, but as soon as the dust settled Naruto stood up and looked around the room desperately for Sasuke. Naruto couldn't see him anywhere. Panic flooded over him, this wasn't supposed to happen. He ran towards the rubble and began moving left over chunks of rock from the pile they had formed.

"Sasuke? Sasuke!" Naruto called out as he looked through the rubble.

Suddenly he stopped and a gasp escaped his lips.

It couldn't be…

(…This is a grreeeaaattt place to end the chapter, ne? xD I won't do that to you this time so be thankful ;p)

"Sasuke!" Naruto reached down and pulled up the pale arm from under the rubble… Naruto was happy to find the body still attached to the arm he had pulled up, "Sasuke?"

His body now out from under the wreckage Naruto looked over Sasuke's body for any bad wounds. Seeing none he shook Sasuke's shoulder gently.

"Sasuke?"

"D-Dobe… don't do that. My shoulder hurts…" Sasuke scolded gently.

"Sasuke!" Naruto's face broke out into a grin before he hugged Sasuke's body tightly.

Sasuke hissed in pain as he felt Naruto clutching onto him. He smiled lightly as the blonde rapped his arms around his neck and sighed in relief.

"You bastard…" Naruto mumbled into Sasuke's neck.

"Yeah, yeah… I know… I owe you lots and lots of ramen."

"Damn straight."

Xoxoxoxoxoxox

"Make sure to get all the paperwork done before I return. It should be only a day or two…" Itachi instructed.

Shikamaru sighed, "Why are _we_ doing this again?"

"Because I'm your boss." Itachi said flatly.

"Che. This is so troublesome." Shikamaru whined as he glanced out the window.

"Shut up, Shikamaru. We have to do this too you know. I'm sure Gaara-san and I want to do this as much as you." Ino said with a scowl.

"Now, now." Itachi soothed, "It's not that bad."

"Then why aren't you doing it?" Gaara asked innocently. (haha, Gaara... innocent? Pft.)

Itachi gave him an I'm-going-to-fire-you-when-I-get-back-look and decided to leave that question unanswered.

"Alright. I'm counting on you guys." Itachi said.

"Hai." The three chorused.

And with that Itachi disappeared into the forest. Some stupid pile of paperwork wasn't going to keep him held back from getting a chance at a good fight. Not at all. He smirked in excitement and quickened his pace. This was going to be fun.

Xoxoxoxoxoxox

Her hand flew through the air. This was it! Sakura pushed her fist as hard as she could into Seeka's face and without any problem the mask split straight down the center. Seeka growled and threw off the remains of the mask. He kept his head bent but Sakura could still see the bottom of his face. Sakura gasped as she saw what was underneath the steel mask. His skin was dark but there were at least thirty scars running down his face and neck and each one stuck out. The scars had changed the skin so that it was light where the scars where and made them look all the more threatening.

"You shouldn't have done that girly." Seeka said raising his head so that she could see his entire face.

There was blood running down his skull from where Sakura had cracked the mask and around his eyes were some sort of cursed seal, but it wasn't exactly like the ones Orochimaru had given to Sasuke, Anko and the others. Seeka grinned evilly showing off his gleaming fangs.

"You _really _shouldn't have done that…"

Sakura could only stare wide eyed as he approached her for the second time. She got into a defensive stance and gulped as he came closer and closer. She wasn't sure what to do now… just keep attacking, she guessed. Now that he didn't have his mask she could easily injure his face, or neck. Two sensitive areas. She reached down to her leg and pulled out a shiruken from her bag. Quickly she threw it quickly and aimed for his jugular vein area on his neck. He caught the shiruken before it hit and laughed lightly.

"You're going to have to do better than that." He said mockingly.

Sakura bit her lip, "Watch me then."

"Oh? Confident are we?"

Sakura smirked and threw a kunai at his chest. The kunai flickered off his armor like a bug to a windshield and he laughed deeply.

"Are you getting stupid? There's no way that will do you any good!" He roared.

"Or will it?"

He stopped and looked down on her like she had seriously gone crazy, but it was that moment that he noticed the small pieces of paper floating down on to him.

"What the? What's this?"

He looked down to see a few of the pieces of paper sticking to him.

"Sakura Fubuki no Jutsu." She called and sent another kunai with an explosive note attached to the end strait and Seeka.

She jumped back and hid behind a tree before the explosion went off but Seeka had no such luck. The explosive tag went off and Seeka became caught within the flames. Sakura stepped out from behind the tree and looked down at her fallen enemy.

"That's what you get for underestimating me…" she said sticking out her tongue.

'_I'll catch up with you soon… Sasuke-kun… Naruto…'_

End of Chapter 20

**(1) **Orochimaru's palace, hideout, whatever. I don't know what to call it but I remember it being called his palace in one episode so that's just what I'll call it :x.

YES! Hahaha, I think this chapter was longer… sort of! Lots of action at least… and stuff :B. And now that I think about it; Seeka and that guy that Sakura fights in the Naruto Movie could be considered the same ;-; but they're not! I assure you! I don't imagine Seeka anything LIKE the guy in the Naruto Movie xD. I noticed that when I was trying to remember the name of Sakura Fubuki no Jutsu; I had to go back and watch that part of the movie and then I was like, "Hey… they both have really strong metal armor… DAMN IT!" but I didn't want to change it so… nyah. There you go. Chapter 20 is DONE. Muwahahaha… it's all thanks to a high off of Fig Newton's and grape juice and techno. Yes. A lurverly combination xD.

Please click…

I

I

V …that button… the grey/purple/blue one… down there… you see it? And I'll be your bestest friend ever x3.

Anukis


	22. Belly Of The Beast

Ahoy! Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I think it really was the longest chapter so far :B. I'll try and make this one long too, mmkay? I've been out a lot more lately. I've been going to the lake (Lake Erie) every day this week. I live less than a mile away from it (more like… one thousand feet next to it . ) so I've been recently visiting it with a few friends and therefore neglecting my fiction-writing-ness xD. Oh well, it's good for me to get out of my box every once and a while, ne? Hehe.

My goodness o.o this story is a lot more popular than I thought! Now with that thing that tells you how many people read your story (the counter thing) I can see how many people have read certain chapters and who has reviewed this or made it as one of their favorites.** Even if you guys don't always review (though it'd be nice if you could at least review one chapter… maybe the last one) I still lurve you all greatly :3.**

Wow is this really chapter 21 already? Huh… that seems so weird to me. Well! Guess I better stop talking and start writing xD. Hope you like this chapter!

Review Corner:

_**Ky0Kichi:** Hehe, yeah. I was so tempted to end it there but I figured I could pump out another couple parts of the story for you guys and make it a bit longer ;3._

_**TheSunshineGirls: **Yeppers! I had to get some (at least) shonen-ai in there xD._

_**Itachi-rin:** I would never dream of leaving such a cliff hanger xD, I was tempted to though… you're lucky I felt like making a long(er) chapter, hehe. An innocent Gaara xD oooohhh yeaah. I'm glad you liked that last chapter :D._

_**OokamiHanyouGurl:** Thank you very much! Haha, yay! I have more best friends x3._

_**Insomiak:** (Reviewed chapters 2-8) xD I'm glad to see you're liking this story! I hope you'll continue to like it as the chapters go by . it seems to change quite a bit as you read, ne ;? –lurve-_

_**Puptastic25:** What? Of course I didn't rip off Indiana Jones x3 … hehe ; I guess a giant rolling bolder just was the first thing I thought of –shrug-. Thank you for both of your reviews! I'm glad you like the story and I hope you continue to read!_

:p you guys rock my hypothetical socks xD.

**Recap:**

_Sakura stepped out from behind the tree and looked down at her fallen enemy._

"_That's what you get for underestimating me…" she said sticking out her tongue._

'_I'll catch up with you soon… Sasuke-kun… Naruto…'_

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

_**Chapter 21: The Belly of the Beast**_

"Kitsune?" Shukaku gently shook Kitsune's shoulder from his spot on the cold dirt floor.

The area they had been dropped into had been less than comfortable. Shukaku had tried pulling her towards him but only got himself thrown down as well. At least they hadn't gotten separated. As long as they stayed in pairs it would be less of a hold back towards the group. Kitsune hadn't budged since they hit the bottom of the pit. He tried to make sure none of her bones where broken, and from what he could tell, none of them were. He growled slightly; hopefully nothing was broken… after all, _she_ had landed on _him_. He tried shaking her shoulder once again but got no response out of her. Sighing, he laid back against the wall behind him. He didn't want to move Kitsune incase something _was_ wrong with her but staying here meant risking the enemy finding them when she was unable to fight.

'_Oh well…_' Shukaku thought rolling his eyes, '_Maybe a few stab wounds will wake her up._'

Shaking his head at his stupid thoughts he picked Kitsune up off the ground and carefully balanced both their weights until he was able to scoot her onto his back and fully stand. Squinting down the dark hallway he began to trudge down the same direction they'd been heading when they were with the others.

Xoxoxoxoxoxox

Sakura had reached the palace about five minutes after the… er… commotion, but she still went in without fear. Thinking all the traps had been set off already, or at least deactivated, she walked down the tunnel without worry. She came to the spot that the bolder had fell and looked down the hallway before even considering the other options (down through the hole the others had fallen through? Or up through the 'boulder hole'?). Sighing she kept straight. At least this way she would have an easier time turning back if needed. She walked down the dreary halls for a few minutes before starting to wonder if there was any sort of passage way through the walls that she might have missed.

'_That's just what I need… to have missed a stupid secret passage way…_' She thought puffing out her cheeks in defiance.

She walked over to the wall to her right and gently placed her ear next to the cold stone that lined the hallway she was in. Listening intently she tried to hear voices or a sort of air passage on the other side. Hearing nothing she sighed and backed away from the wall. Perhaps there wasn't really anything to worry about. Tapping on the stone Sakura began listening for any kind of echo. It seemed like a basic idea as she began to walk further down the tunnel, but it might just work. A few stones later Sakura heard it: a faint echo on the other side of the stone where she had hit. Her face lit up and she leaned in next to the wall as she tapped it again. Sure enough there was another echo.

"Yes." She said stretching out her arm as she prepared to punch through to the other side.

Pulling back her arm she gathered her energy to her fist but before the blow could connect the wall swung out and Sakura went stumbling through.

"Whoa! Wait a minute!"

Before she could get up and run back through to the other side, the wall slammed shut leaving her in the dark on the other side.

'_Brilliant…_'

xoxoxoxoxoxox

Itachi had traveled about 23 miles before finally reaching Orochimaru's palace. He walked carefully down the old stone steps and approached the entrance with caution. He figured that there mustn't be any traps at the entrance just yet, that wasn't Orochimaru's style. Quickly moving through the small dark space he made his way into the tunnel. It was then that he noticed a hole in the floor and in the ceiling. There were marks in the floor that showed some sort of struggle or fight had happed earlier. Itachi looked further on and seeing nothing but darkness slightly lit by the lights on the walls he looked up. Above him was another hallway, and through the hole beneath him was darkness. He opted for going up… perhaps the above hallway was not meant to be found; and that was exactly why he was going to take it.

xoxoxoxoxoxox

"What do you mean 'We should go back'!" Naruto asked throwing his hands up into the air in aggravation.

Sasuke growled, "Well, genius, do you see anywhere else to go?"

Naruto blinked slowly and turned to face the dead end, "Well… we could blow our way through it you know…"  
Sasuke was this-close to punching Naruto's _adorable, sexy, cute, pouty_ face in. He couldn't help but slap his forehead for letting those adjectives slip in. It wasn't _his_ fault the baka looked so cute right now. His hair had been disheveled from the battle that had happened earlier with the running and the bolder and what-not. His face had a few marks of dirt on it and the pout that he had on right now just simply made him look oh-so _do-able_. Sasuke shook his head free of those thoughts and got back on the thought of arguing with Naruto.

"No, dobe. We're not going to blow a hole through a wall that might not even lead anywhere. Don't you think that Orochimaru wouldn't want a wall that leads to an opening with boulders coming out of it?"

Naruto paused to take in what Sasuke was saying. He looked a little confused before letting out a sigh of frustration and raising both hands to his head to rub his head which only succeeded in messing it up further.

"Fine, bastard. We'll go back. But that's a _really_ far way to walk." He whined, "I mean… you saw how damn far we ran, right?"

"Whatever, baka. The sooner _you_ stop complaining and _we_ start walking the sooner we'll get back and the closer we'll be to killing Orochimaru."

"Che, well if _you're _done bitching then I guess we can go."

Naruto was just about to start running when he saw Sasuke's eye twitch in aggravation (a clear sign the Uchiha heir was pissed off) when the ground shook again.

"What the! You've got to be kidding me! This can't happen _twice_! How unoriginal _is_ Orochimaru?" Naruto said grabbing onto Sasuke to regain his balance.

"Quite, dobe. Watch out for anymore traps, let's just start moving."

"Y-Yeah…"

The two began to move along the wall of the cave as carefully as they could so as not to fall to the shaking ground. As the stumbled along Sasuke heard something that sounded strangely like water flowing on the other side of the wall.

"Wait a minute, Naruto."

Naruto looked up to see Sasuke staring at the wall alertly.

"It won't bite you know." Naruto said sarcastically.

"I know that dobe. I hear something… it sounds like running water."

Naruto burst out laughing, "Orochimaru has pluming in this place?"

Sasuke promptly hit Naruto over the head, "Can't you shut up for two seconds?"

Naruto didn't say anything but instead settled for sticking out his tongue. He would have let go of Sasuke's arm and crossed his arms and huffed and made a scene but the ground was shaking a bit more violently now. Why the hell was this happening to _them_? Before Naruto could mentally complain anymore Sasuke had jumped away from the wall (dragging Naruto with him) and pulled Naruto close.

"Hold on, dobe!" Sasuke warned.

"Nani? What's going on, ba--" _SWOOSH!_ The wall that Sasuke had previously been standing by had given way and a rapid wave of angry water came through the hole.

"Eck!" Naruto found himself burying his face into Sasuke's shoulder trying to hide his face from the currents of the water that were quickly filling up the tunnel.

"Orochimaru you bastard…" Sasuke muttered before beginning to move towards the new 'doorway' that had opened up.

"What are you doing? Sasuke? Why are you going into _there_?" Naruto asked pointing towards the still slightly rushing water to emphasize his point.

"I'm doing what Orochimaru wants us to do…" Sasuke said picking Naruto up with one arm under his legs and the other around the blonde's shoulders.

"WHAT! Are you stupid? Wait, one; How do you know that leads to Orochimaru and two; If you're so sure it's him then _why_ are you going that way?" Naruto asked as he looked worriedly towards the direction Sasuke was advancing in.

"Didn't we come here to find Orochimaru?"

"Well… yeah… but… we don't need to walk _directly_ towards him!"

"Maybe we aren't."

"YOU'RE JUST GUESSING?"

"Well, idiot, if we walked back to the entrance and picked a way it'd be the same as _guessing_ now wouldn't it? Besides… this way you don't have to walk. So be happy." Sasuke quickly leaned down to silence Naruto by placing a soft kiss on the tip of his nose.

Naruto's mouth had fallen open but he bit down so fast you could hear his teeth click. Throwing his nose in the air he crossed his arms and allowed himself to be carried by Sasuke through the now stomach-high water while muttering something about lots and _lots_ of ramen…

xoxoxoxoxoxox

Tsunade groaned. That was the last time she _ever_ leaned against one of the stupid freaky-turny walls that Orochimaru had installed down here. Goodness only knew what _other_ kind of stupid traps he had lying around. Speaking of which… she scanned the room with her eyes. The area she was in seemed like another normal hallway… nothing new here. She looked over to the lump beside her.

"You ok?" She asked poking its side.

Jiraiya moaned and clutched his side, "I think I broke something."

Tsunade rolled her eyes and stood up from her seat on the chilly ground.

"Let's go you big baby. We need to find the others as quickly as possible."

"Yeah, yeah… I'm moving."

As soon as the both had stood a sudden '_click, click, click,_' noise came from further down the hallway. Jiraiya and Tsunade listened for a minute before Jiraiya spoke up.

"Err… ladies first."

She rolled her eyes, "How brave."

Jiraiya let out a nervous laugh and a silly grin as Tsunade began to lead the way. As they advanced down the hallway the clicking sound grew louder and louder (obviously). When they reached what they thought was the exact spot of where the clicking was coming from it suddenly stopped (A/N: hey! It's like 'Jumanji'! Good movie... ok, shutting up).

"Well that's a little weird." Tsunade said looking around at the walls trying to find something that may have caused the clicking sound.

"I wouldn't touch any of those stupid walls again." Jiraiya warned.

"Yeah I know. But where was that stupid noise coming from then?" Tsunade asked turning around to face Jiraiya with her hands on her hips.

"Maybe it was those guys?" Jiraiya said pointing back behind Tsunade.

She quickly turned around to come face to face with some sort of skeleton warrior clad in tattered brown leather holding a sword and shield.

"GAH!" Tsunade cried before punching a hole through the skeleton's skull.

Jiraiya kicked and punched holes in the other two before looking down to see the three skeletons that lay motionless on the ground.

"What the hell are those things?" Tsunade asked catching her breath from the scare she'd only just had.

"I don't know… I don't know if I want to know either…"

"Yeah… let's just keep walking and hope we don't see anymore."

"Good idea."

As the two continued down the hall they failed to see the three piles of bones join to make three separate forms once again. The three skeleton warriors turned to face the two Sennin as they walked and stalked up behind them with their swords ready to strike. As their blades fell Jiraiya and Tsunade quickly turned and kicked the swords out of their hands.

"These guys don't give up do they?" Jiraiya said kicking off the skull of the skeleton that already had a hole through its skull thanks to Tsunade.

"What the hell is driving these things?"

Jiraiya shrugged as the last one went down, "Beats me."

"Argh! What the hell." Tsunade exclaimed as they began to assemble once again.

"Forget it! Let's just keep moving." Jiraiya reached out and grabbed Tsunade's wrist before she could begin to stomp on the moving bones and took off in the direction they'd been headed.

This was just getting weirder and weirder.

End of Chapter 21

:D Sort of long-ish again (for me at least). I just wanted to say that this will probably be the last chapter for the next week at least. Heading out to Georgia on Friday night (which I guess Friday will be today in 30 minutes xD) for a week and won't be back until next Monday. So… yeah. Just a warning there ;3. Thank you again to everyone reading! I'm thinking about doing some sort of picture thing if I get 300 or more reviews (but that's only before the last chapter… yeah…). **SO PLEASE REVIEW**! Oui. Ok. I'm done –passes out-.

Anukis


	23. Dark Path, Dark Destination

I have found the best AMV on this entire earth. If you go to and hopefully already have an account then go find "It's Good To Be In Love" by SailorRed. It's an amazing Naruto AMV that's basically Sakusasunarusaku and even though I'm not in-love with SakuSasu (I don't think it could ever happen) or NaruSaku (I guess this couple _can_ be cute but… I still think Naruto is destine for Sasuke ;p) it's mainly Sasunaru and it makes me **extremely** happy. It's just… ugh… I can't even think of a word good enough to describe it. Just go watch it sometime, mmkay?

I really don't mean to sound so err, annoying and I don't mean to brag but, almost two hundred people read the last chapter (and holy shitake is that a lot of people ;-;) but only nine reviewed . … meh. It makes me feel like my work isn't good enough to review so if you think it needs work (in order to make it worthy of at least a one-word review,) could you please tell me (I'll never ask you to review again ;-;…). –feels pathetic- Goodness, I sound like I have no self-confidence . ……

One last note, Itachi is slightly out of character. I love him to death (he _is_ my favorite character) but I can't write him for crap xD. Anywho, thank you for reading, let's just start the stuff shall we :)?

Review Corner:

_**Ky0Kichi:** Nyah, I'm back now :3. Thank you for waiting and for all of your wonderful reviews!_

_**TheSunshineGirls:** Glad you liked it! I think it was one of the 'more-effort' chapters xD. Thank you for all of your reviews! They mean a lot to me :)._

_**OokamiHanyouGurl: **Lol, I don't blame you for your lack of sleep. Your review made me laugh so it's really ok :D (I like laughing). I'm sorry about your gogurt xD good thing that wasn't the last one or else you'd be frozen-gogurt-less ;-;.Thank you for reviewing!_

_**Itachi-rin:** Hehe, that's what fan fiction is for ;3. Thanks for your awesome reviews._

_**Alana-StarSugarCat:** I've been in a SasuNaru mood and have been throwing it in any chance I get so I'm glad you think it was cute ;p :3. Thank you for your reviews._

_**Insomiak:** (Reviewed Chapter 9) :D yoouuu'lll seeee –cackle- x3.Thanks for reading and reviewing_

_**Riekoish:** Yeah, Jumanji scared me at first too but then the more I watched it (my mom loves that movie . ) the more I realized how silly it was and just started to think it was there, I think, hehe. The game still scares me though xD. Thanks for your review._

_**Umino Ayame:** Indeed they are… I have one in my basement :) seriously (it's a book shelf). My friends always say it reminds them of something from Scooby Doo xD I always tell people that I hide bodies back there and so they shouldn't piss me off… in reality, it's just my laundry room ;3. Thank you for reviewing._

_**Veeko: **Good to hear from you again :) I understand that school can be annoying sometimes… well… a lot of times. Thanks for the review._

_**Puptastic25:** Hehe, well I have this problem where I'll sit down to start writing the next chapter, get all pumped up on stuff like ramen and anime and tea, get the document up and type like… one sentence . … so instead of a week, it turns into like, two months xD. Thanks for your reviews :3._

You guys make this fic what it is you know? Hehe, thank you all very, very much.

**Recap:**

"_Argh! What the hell." Tsunade exclaimed as they began to assemble once again._

"_Forget it! Let's just keep moving." Jiraiya reached out and grabbed Tsunade's wrist before she could begin to stomp on the moving bones and took off in the direction they'd been headed._

_This was just getting weirder and weirder._

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

**_Chapter 22: Dark Path, Dark Destination_**

Itachi walked down the hall slowly, making each of his steps soft and soundless. He was on high alert and his alertness only increased the deeper he went into the dark hideout. Orochimaru could have anything down here. Walking in the dimly-lit hallway was a journey like none other. The soft silence was a sick lullaby… nothing could stop even Itachi from becoming nervous the more he walked down the hallway. Though he could silence his foot steps, he could not silence his heart.

The silence grew deeper, almost like a pulling sensation on the soul that pulled Itachi down the tunnel. He tried to find something else to focus his mind on besides the rising hair on the back of his neck or the slight nervous twitching of his finger tips. Instead he looked at the darkness in front of him, doing his best to focus his mind to nothing but the task in front of him. It wasn't like him to be nervous. He hated being nervous. A light flickered down the hall and the air suddenly grew so much heavier.

Itachi grabbed a kunai from his side and brought it up only slightly to defend himself if anything came down the hallway. Straining his eyes he tried to see any sort of shadow that may have been lingering down the hall way. The smell of death surrounded the area within seconds. Itachi could have sworn he heard someone speaking… in a whisper.

The same candle light flickered down the hall and this time Itachi was sure he saw _something_ move within the darkness. He brought his right hand, the hand with the kunai, up further in front of himself. His heart sped up only slightly; the air of death that loomed down the hallway from him was reaching out and squeezing his soul, searching his weaknesses. The light farthest down from Itachi went out.

The grip on his kunai was desperate now. His knuckles white and a single trail of sweat made its way down his forehead. He now could begin to see the shadow more clearly than before. It was making itself known. Itachi had never felt so much evil behind someone before, yet it was there behind this being coming down the hallway and Itachi knew, without doubt, who it was. It was _him…_ Orochimaru. As the silhouette grew closer Itachi felt almost as if his power was leaving him and fleeing from the presence. He was about to drop into a fighting stance when the next light went out but something was not right… his body would not respond. A wave of slight panic came over him. Next another light went out.

"You look awfully pale, Itachi-kun." Drifted the cold familiar voice from not so far away.

"Orochimaru…"

"I see that you have found yourself locked in my Binding Jutsu… don't worry. I don't plan on killing you just yet…" Orochimaru said with an evil grin.

…xoxoxoxoxoxox…

Sakura had been walking for what seemed like hours. She would have thought that she was walking in circles but she hadn't past that one rock she'd tripped over earlier yet so… circles were out of the question. Sighing she began to feel tired from the lack of rest she'd gotten. Usually this would be nothing but after her fight she wasn't feeling so enthusiastic. Her eyes had only slightly adjusted to the lightless hall… how she could see anything was confusing to her. It seemed like there was no light at all down here yet there had to be some if she was able to make out shadows now. Listening closely she traveled further down the hall continuing to listen for any voices or sounds that might lead her out of the darkness she was trapped in.

"This is just great…" She muttered as she felt along the walls trying not to loose her way, "Stuck in the dark of a creepy-man's castle."

As she moved along she didn't notice the soft 'whoosh' sound that was coming from not to far up ahead. Too busy consumed in her thoughts she failed to noticed that the road was also well, ending. As she got closer to the sound, still oblivious, the ground suddenly slipped into water and with the ground went Sakura.

"ACK!" She cried as she found herself waist deep in water.

Looking around she saw that this tunnel had candles down further down it.

"Man… it sucks getting wet but maybe I'll finally be able to get some light at least." She thought happily out loud.

As she began to drag herself through the murky water and down the hall towards where she could see the flickering candles she could have sworn she heard a familiar voice just slightly over the rush of the water. She began to quicken her pace and headed towards where she heard the distant mumbling. She was almost about to think that maybe she was hearing things when she caught sight of a mop of golden hair down just a bit more from where she was. There, just ahead, was Naruto and Sasuke walking down the tunnel as well (A/N: aww… Sasuke stopped carrying Naruto ;-;)

"Naruto! Sasuke!" She called out waving her arms as the two boys turned around to face the direction she'd called from.

"Sakura-chan? Oi!" Naruto called back happily, "You're ok then! You beat that guy!"

"Hehe, sure did." She said sticking out her tongue playfully.

"Yosha! Good job!" Naruto congratulated.

"Nice. Now, we need to keep moving." Sasuke chimed in.

"Do you know where this leads, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked.

He looked away and shook his head, facing back down towards the direction he and Naruto had been facing before, "No… but it just seemed like the right way to go at the moment."

"Yeah, thanks to this guy we're down here up to our butts in this icky water." Naruto complained.

Sasuke made a grunting noise and rolled his eyes. Sakura giggled slightly.

"Well I guess we'd better just move then." She said nodding.

…xoxoxoxoxoxox…

"Kitsune if you don't wake up soon I swear I'm going to drop you and leave you." Shukaku muttered as he shifted Kitsune's weight on his shoulders.

He'd been carrying her for a short time now but he wasn't in the mood for babysitting. Trying to listen out for enemies over Kitsune's light snoring was really starting to bug him. Giving out another sigh he decided to stop for another second to try and wake the sleeping fox once again. Setting her down on a patch of stone that wasn't covered with dirt, Shukaku kneeled down next to her and gently shook her shoulder.

"Kitsune? Wake up, baka."

He thought he heard her ever-so-lightly mutter something but he wasn't sure. Leaning in, he turned his ear towards her face to try and hear what she was saying.

"Come on. You've been sleeping for way too long. Speak up and wake up." He said giving up trying to hear her and turning his face back towards hers.

"Shu… kaku…?"

"Yeah?"

"Mmm tired… Mm dun wanna get up…" Kitsune muttered.

"Kitsune I'm not carrying you anymore. Especially now that I know you're awake."

"…bastard."

Kitsune opened her eyes. When she saw how close Shukaku was her face flared up in a blush and she let out a small 'eep!' before pushing him away.

"O-Oi! What was that for?" Shukaku asked, oblivious to the reason for Kitsune's fluster.

"N-Never mind! L-let's just get going, shall we?" She said quickly standing and beginning to walk down the hall.

"Kitsune?" Shukaku called before she got too far

"What?" She snapped.

"We were heading that way." He said pointing in the direction opposite of the direction Kitsune had trudged off in.

"I knew that!"

End Chapter 22

I feel so sick right now –whacks head on desk-. (note: this is two days after I finished this chapter I just didn't have time to put up the ending note, like I'm doing now, and post it). I spent the entire day yesterday at Cedar Point and I'm about 7/8ths dead right now… (so this also means I didn't read over this chapter)… Ok… yeah. I feel like this chapter was a little shorter but then again I didn't double space it on my computer so it's kinda weird o.o… ah… whatever. Review please…

Anukis


	24. Wordless

Meh… nothing to say right now. A few things I think you should know though; Sasuke doesn't have the Sharingan yet in this story, Tsunade and Jiraiya used to work with Orochimaru rather than being in a ninja team with him, I fail as an authoress cuz I didn't add enough SasuNaru in this chapter ;-;, I'm glad most of you liked the ShuKit stuff x3 (if you didn't at least I didn't get b—ched at), I know Itachi's stronger than Orochimaru but Itachi just made a stupid mistake and got caught (work with me here), there's freaky OroIta in this chapter, I'm a yaoi hentai aaanndd… ok that's it.

There will be no review corner this time, sorry. But OH MY GOODNESS, YAAAR! –Charges with a flying-tackle-glomp at her reviews- _I LOVE YOU ALL!_ –huggles-

**Recap**:

"_O-Oi! What was that for?" Shukaku asked, oblivious to the reason for Kitsune's fluster.  
"N-Never mind! L-let's just get going, shall we?" She said quickly standing and beginning to walk down the hall.  
"Kitsune?" Shukaku called before she got too far  
"What?" She snapped.  
"We were heading that way." He said pointing in the direction opposite of the direction Kitsune had trudged off in.  
"I knew that!"_

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

_**Chapter 23: Wordless**_

Kabuto watched from the shadows as the trio moved down the darkening corridor. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura had been chatting away (well, Naruto had been) as if nothing was wrong with walking around in the depths of Orochimaru's hideout. Kabuto snickered… how wrong they were.

He'd been following Sakura and so when she met up with Sasuke and Naruto Kabuto could hardly believe his luck. The only thing he couldn't believe was that the trio couldn't sense his presence. He'd accidentally let his chakra become unmasked for a few seconds when he slipped into the water. His stomach dropped at the thought of being discovered but Sakura went right on yelling at Naruto and Sasuke had kept his hands in his pockets and kept trudging on next to them. The trio was unaware of him lurking only a few feet behind them. Kabuto smirked at the sense of power he felt right now. The feeling that there fate was basically in his hands. Had it not been Orochimaru's order to not kill them then he would have done so… killed them off one by one.

A sudden light gasp escaped his lips and he held his head. What was he thinking? Shaking off his thoughts he came to the conclusion that he'd been spending way too much time around Orochimaru. His blood-lust had risen ever since he'd joined with Orochimaru and Kabuto was now beginning to see Orochimaru within his self. It was beginning to disturb him. Kabuto's eyes traveled back over to the trio. The hyper blond had already gone on to the topic of kicking Orochimaru's ass when they found him. Shaking his head, Kabuto didn't believe it could be done. Especially not by a ground of silly kids. Then again, Kabuto had yet to see these _kids_ fight.

"--And after were done kicking Orochi-baka's ass I'm gonna go straight back to kitchens and order a BIG bowl of ramen!"

"Che, dobe. All you ever think about is ramen don't you?" Sasuke scoffed.

"Iruka makes good ramen!" Naruto protested.

Sasuke simply rolled his eyes and realized that he hadn't scanned the area in front of them yet. He stopped suddenly.

"Eh, what is it Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked noticing his sudden halt.

"I wanted to check the area a little better than we have been."

"What do you mean, Sasuke-teme? How can we check the area any better than just keeping our guard up? It's not like we have anything special to help us out."

"I know that, dobe. Just shut up and give me a second ok?"

Naruto grumbled something and crossed his arms but remained silent afterwards. Sasuke closed his eyes and concentrated on the noises around him. He heard Naruto and Sakura's light breathing mixed with his own in the area just around him. The slight flow of water and… something else? He turned around; his eyes open now, and stared into the darkness behind them. He could see the last light they'd past a bit behind them now, at least twenty feet. But it wasn't the flames of the light he heard. It sounded like… breathing.

Sasuke slowly began to move towards the darkest area before the light. He kept his eyes opened wide and looked back and forth across the surface of the water to the top of the tunnel. Nothing… but he still thought he heard that breathing. He looked over to the wall… it almost sounded like it was coming from… there? No… it couldn't be but never the less he started towards the dirt wall and slowly moved closer to the breathing sound.

Kabuto was hiding behind a sheet made to blend him in with the wall. Sasuke couldn't see him now. Not with this and while he was masking his chakra. The only thing giving him away was his damn breathing. He waited until Sasuke looked over to the area Kabuto was standing it before Kabuto sucked in his breath and held it there. Sasuke began to move towards him, ever so slowly. Kabuto began to feel that his need for air would be great today. Sasuke's nose was inches from Kabuto's and the younger stared strait through the medical nin into what Sasuke thought was dirt wall. One wrong move and Kabuto would find himself in battle with three people he knew little about. Sasuke finally seemed content and moved back away from where Kabuto stood.

"There's nothing…" Sasuke said shaking his head and moving back to where Sakura and Naruto were waiting.

"Good! Can we go now? This water is seriously starting to make me itch in places you don't want to know about--"

"NARUTO!" –Whack!-

"Iiiitaaaiii, Sakura-chan! I didn't _name_ any of the places!"

"Ugh."

…xoxoxoxoxoxox…

How could he have been captured so easily? He was an Uchiha. Uchiha _Itachi_. Yet here Orochimaru had captured him, no problem. Orochimaru wasn't even on the same level as he was. How could he have let him self be pulled in to that snakes trap? After Orochimaru caught Itachi he had knocked him out. When Itachi had woken up only a few minutes ago, he couldn't sense Orochimaru close by. Itachi had been chained down with chakra bands that restricted his movement. There was no escaping this hell-hole for now. His sharingan flickered in and out of life as he felt the chakra bands not only holding him down, but also slowly eating away at his chakra. He cursed himself yet again for stupidly falling into Orochimaru's trap. He found he could no longer keep the Sharingan activated and that was when he heard Orochimaru's voice from behind him.

"So you've finally been drained of most of your chakra, ne Itachi-kun?"

'_How long has he been behind me!'_ Itachi thought suddenly turning his head to better see behind him.

"Orochimaru…"

"Haha, don't look so angry." Orochimaru said walking to the front of Itachi.

Itachi only continued to glare at the snake man. Orochimaru sensed Itachi's chakra being drained further and knew that Itachi was about ANBU level now.

"You're eight tenths drained of your power now, Itachi-kun…" Orochimaru said dangerously as he walked closer to the powerless Uchiha, "I don't think trying anything now will be in your favor. You're already below my self. I would have no problem defeating you in this state."

"Is your plan to simply drain my power until I die?" Itachi asked in a bored kind of voice despite the danger he was in.

"My, my… where's the fun in that?"

Orochimaru came dangerously close to Itachi's face and gave a dark grin. When he spoke again, Itachi felt his breath pouring down the side of his face and over his ear and shuddered in disgust.

"I'm going to make you so weak until you have the strength of a new-born child. Then I'm going to _break_ you as revenge for throwing me out of the castle."

"You brought it upon your self, you selfish bastard."

Orochimaru's fist connected with Itachi's gut.

"You won't be saying such things when you're screaming my name."

Itachi flinched at the contact of Orochimaru's fist and coughed up a small amount of blood. The blood spilled from the corners of his mouth as he tried to hold it back and Orochimaru smiled his twisted smile. Leaning in only slightly more his tongue slithered out of his mouth and slowly licked up the trail of blood. Itachi breathed heavily and tried to turn his head away but it was no use… he could feel his power slipping away even quicker now. Orochimaru finished 'cleaning' Itachi's face and backed away with a devilish smirk.

"Nine tenths… Itachi-kun…"

…xoxoxoxoxoxox…

"-huff- I –huff- I think we finally lost the –huff- pesky bastards." Jiraiya spat as he leaned up against a wall to catch his breath.

"Let's hope so…" Tsunade sighed.

They certainly weren't as young as they used to be… (Anukis: -gets hit with a shoe thrown by Tsunade-) OW! Stupid old hag! (Tsunade: -glares-)... Er, eheh… -sweat drop- Anywho…

Just running from those skeletons had worn them out. They'd tried different Jutsu's against them but nothing seemed to be working. The skeletons were being controlled by some sort of chakra; obviously the idea of them being controlled by strings like puppets was out of the question. When the two Sennin could breathe properly again they set off at a quick pace deeper into Orochimaru's lair. They could feel the blood-thirsty power of Orochimaru not far ahead from the hall that they were running it. It was only a matter of time before they found him. As Jiraiya ran towards where they felt Orochimaru's chakra, he suddenly felt a smaller chakra as well.

"Ne, Tsunade, do you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"That other chakra, baka. It's in the same place as Orochimaru but it… it feels like… Itachi? When would he have gotten here though?"

"Who knows. Let's be careful. I don't think it's Itachi though. Itachi is stronger than Orochimaru…"

"But it feels like--"

"Shut up. Let's just go see."

"Mask your chakra."

"I know. I'm not a baka like you, baka."

"Who's the baka?"

"Shh! You want to give away our position?"

Jiraiya made a face and became silent as they carefully approached the area from which Orochimaru's chakra seemed to be coming. Soon enough they saw a door up ahead and Tsunade began to walk slightly faster now that she had her target in mind. She only got a few steps though before Jiraiya suddenly grabbed her arm and yanked her back.

"Ow!" She let out softly.

She sent Jiraiya a look as if to say 'What the hell was that for?' and Jiraiya only gave her a look before pointing up on the ceiling where Tsunade had been about to walk. Tsunade stared at the ceiling looking around at the dirt in confusion. She turned back to him with a questioning look and he only rolled his eyes and walked carefully towards the spot. Doing a few hand symbols he punched the ground and blue chakra flowed from his arms up around till it hit a point in the ceiling. A red flame suddenly burst from the point and an open scroll fell down. Jiraiya picked it up and handed it to Tsunade.

Looking at the scroll she suddenly realized, '_This… this is! Orochimaru... not even I could sense it. Jiraiya and Orochimaru are probably the only two who can sense this. After all… they _did _make it up themselves.'_

Tsunade looked up to Jiraiya who scratched his nose sheepishly and shrugged. He knew Tsunade probably hated him right now for making the stupid thing with Orochimaru. It was a long time ago when Orochimaru worked _with_ the two that Jiraiya had this silly idea of making the perfect binding jutsu. He went to Orochimaru to help and surprisingly Orochimaru had agreed. They had worked two and a half weeks making that jutsu until it was perfect. Tsunade was pissed when Jiraiya tested it on her and demanded her to go out with him. Ah… let's just say Jiraiya was crawling away when Tsunade broke out of the Jutsu with her super-human strength (and only Tsunade could ever pull a feat such as that).

Jiraiya let out a small grin as he thought back to when Orochimaru hadn't been so power hungry. Things had defiantly changed. Tsunade woke him from his memories when she punched his arm lightly and nodded her head at him so that they could move on. Jiraiya nodded back and the two continued towards the door. The chakra that Jiraiya had felt before, he noticed, was now even weaker than before… maybe an Academy Student level.

They had reached the door without any further problems. The only thing left now was to carefully open the door so that Orochimaru wouldn't know they were there. Jiraiya's hands softly grasped the door handle and in slow patient movements he cracked open the door. Through the crack they could see Itachi chained down with chakra bands. His head hung low and his chakra drained quickly. Jiraiya suddenly felt the urge to jump through the door and get him out before it was too late but the sight of Orochimaru suddenly stopped him.

Orochimaru approached Itachi and the bands disappeared from sight. Itachi slightly opened his eyes as Orochimaru crouched down to look at Itachi's face. A pale white hand reached out and grabbed Itachi's chin, forcefully lifting his head so that Itachi could look into the hate and lust filled eyes better.

"So Itachi-kun… feeling more _obedient_ now?" Orochimaru cackled as Itachi struggled to speak, "I thought so…"

Dropping Itachi's chin he stood up and crossed his arms as he looked down at the elder Uchiha. A smirk covered Orochimaru's face.

"You know… now maybe if Sasuke-kun proves to fail me in my plan, I can use _you_ instead."

'_His plan?'_ Tsunade, Jiraiya and Itachi thought almost at the same time.

Orochimaru's lips twisted upwards even further as he saw Itachi trying to move, trying to get away so he could recover his strength.

"No use trying to escape me Itachi-kun. You're under my control now. I can't do as I please with you and you can't even lift a finger against me."

Tsunade's breath hitched as she watched Orochimaru lick his lips as he moved Itachi rather roughly to the ground. The Uchiha glared with all he had in him at the snake.

"O-Orochi… you bas-bastard…"

"Oh? So you can speak now?" Orochimaru frowned slightly, "Even so, it's still only a little… better get this over with quick then, ne?"

Orochimaru sat heavily on Itachi's hips and leaned down to whisper in his ear, "You'd like me to say that… but I'm going to make your suffering _last_."

Before Itachi could try to snap at Orochimaru, Jiraiya's hands flew together and he began to make a few hand symbols. He threw his hands to the ground and suddenly the room around the four became pink and mussel like. Jiraiya and Tsunade burst into where Orochimaru and Itachi lay.

"Damn you." Orochimaru hissed as he looked up to see his intruders.

"Get off him." Jiraiya warned.

Orochimaru said nothing but instead whipped out a kunai and pressed it against Itachi's throat.

"I don't think so, Jiraiya." Orochimaru said with a frown.

"Orochimaru you bastard!" Tsunade yelled grinding her teeth.

"It's not my fault you two were too late." Orochimaru said, his sadistic smirk coming back into view.

Jiraiya glared at Orochimaru. Orochimaru felt the ground beneath him sink slightly and looked down to see that Itachi had been covered in a type of protective bubble and swallowed into the mussel-type coverings. Itachi's form disappeared from beneath Orochimaru and Itachi soon reappeared beside Tsunade and Jiraiya.

"Tsunade. Take care of him." Jiraiya ordered.

Tsunade's eyes still burned with a want to kick Orochimaru's ass but she cooled off and nodded as she looked over to where Itachi lay. Tsunade began healing his wounds and helping to raise his chakra by giving him some of her own.

"Orochimaru… your opponent is me now." Jiraiya said as he glared at Orochimaru.

"So it would seem." The snake master said as he rose from his place on the floor, "I have been waiting to fight you for a while actually Jiraiya."

Jiraiya kept his guard up as Orochimaru stood and looked at him coldly.

"Don't disappoint me…"

…xoxoxoxoxoxox…

Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura had managed to finally make it out of the water and now they trudged in their wet clothes towards what they hoped to be, closer to Orochimaru. The hall they were now in was cold but it felt even colder with their wet clothes.

"You know what?" Naruto suddenly spoke.

"What?" Sakura urged.

"We could have just used our chakra to walk over all that water…" Naruto whined.

"And how would that help us _mask_ our chakra, dobe?" Sasuke asked annoyed.

"Shut up, teme! It would have been a lot better than getting so damn wet. You said yourself there was no one around." Naruto pointed out.

"So? Just because we can't sense or see someone doesn't mean they can't sense or see us. We had to walk through the water to keep ourselves hidden better."

"Geez… this is stupid." Naruto scoffed crossing his arms and trying to keep warm.

"You didn't have to come." Sasuke snapped.

"Psh! Like hell! And let you take all the glory of kicking Orochimaru's ass? I don't think so…"

"Baka! This isn't some sort of game."

Naruto immaturely stuck his tongue out at Sasuke and squinted his eyes until they looked like they were closed.

"Yeah. Doing that to Orochimaru will really make him scared." Sasuke said rolling his eyes.

"Bastard! I swear if I didn't think we might need your help on this mission I would have--"

"You two! Knock it off!" Sakura suddenly yelled silencing both of the boys.

"H-Hai… Sakura-chan." Naruto said with a sheepish laugh.

"This is no time for you two to be arguing. If you two haven't noticed, which I doubt you have… we're being followed." Sakura's voice was low and Naruto and Sasuke could tell she was being serious.

"By who?" Sasuke asked softly.

"I don't know."

"How did you…?"

"I focused my chakra into a line a few yards back and masked it. Someone ran into that line and broke it. We've been being followed for a while most likely. There were no other ways into or out of that tunnel for a while." Sakura glanced behind her and stared into the darkness.

"Show yourself. We know you're there." Sakura said loud enough for Kabuto to hear.

He sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose a little.

"I've been caught." He said with a small smirk, "Nice to meet you Sakura-chan, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun. I'm Yakushi Kabuto."

End Chapter 23

Forgive my stupidity and failure but… ;-; I'm out of ideas right now. I know this chapter isn't as long as you probably hoped and some of you probably have questions along the lines of 'OMGWTFBBQ!' but right now. Eh. I'm actually kind of debating what to do with the ending. The idea I have is kinda sad and I don't want to have a sad ending but it would go with the manga more . mehbeh... gah! I don't want to give it away so I'll just shut up :x. Moving on; I wasn't going to say anything about it but it's eating away at me so –huff- _sorry_ for the long time with out updating. I just didn't feel like writing. Marching Band starts next week and so I'll probably have even less time to write but I really want to get this story done before school starts (I tend to not write as well when I'm in school . I don't know why). So… since Marching Band might be an easier time to write for methan I expect, thenhopefully this story will be done by the end of this month. DO NOT quote me on that though cuz I'm just hoping (notice that I'm rambling on and not starting the next chapter right now… yeah… don't count on it).  
One quick last note. I am so sorry for making Itachi so freakin' weak. I told you I couldn't write him for crap! He's my favorite character, you'd expect me to have his whole bad-ass thing down pat but I don't and it's just cuz I fail like that. Don't worry though, he'll be kicking some arse soon enough (I think). Hopefully I didn't scar anyone too badly with the OroIta stuff xD. It was sexy but sort of er… creepy as hell.

So… off I go. Be safe, look both ways when crossing the street, eat lots of good food, have fun and er… peace o.o.

Anukis


	25. Fake

Bah o.o. One note, **hebi** means snake :). You can take the battle scene between Jiraiya and Orochimaru any way you want o.o… while writing it I guess I kinda hinted towards OroJira but if you don't like that then 'good friends' is find x3. Hope you like this chapter, I think it's ok. Short, as always, but decent. Oh yeah, another thing, I know when choking people pass out before they die from lack of oxygen but in this chapter I'm not having someone (cough) pass out before so nyah.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR REVIEWS –fuzzy neko love-.

**_AND OMG THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER! (unless you count the small one chapter sequel I plan on doing after this hopefully soon) –dances and cries at the same time-_**

**Guide-thingamabob:**

-Naruto's thoughts to Kitsune-

/Kitsune's thoughts to Naruto/

**Recap:**

"_Show yourself. We know you're there." Sakura said loud enough for Kabuto to hear._

_He sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose a little._

"_I've been caught." He said with a small smirk, "Nice to meet you Sakura-chan, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun. I'm Yakushi Kabuto."_

_**Good Night My Knight!**_

**_Chapter 24: Fake_**

Orochimaru hissed as Jiraiya took a fighting stance and watched the hebi's every movement carefully. The Ninpou Gamaguchi Shibari surrounded the two, Orochimaru had little escape now. The only way to get passed Jiraiya was to fight him. The snake had drained a bit of energy keeping Itachi still long enough to drain almost all of his power. That power seemed wasted now. Orochimaru grit his teeth together in frustration, he should have known that Jiraiya out of all people would know how to get past all of the binding jutsu set up. Letting out a silent curse Orochimaru quickly put his hands together and performed a few seals before disappearing. Jiraiya's eyes scanned the room as the Sennin backed towards the door as to not let Orochimaru slip through.

'_Up? Down? No… left.' _The white haired man's eyes darted to his left as he focused his chakra.

Gathering up his chakra, Jiraiya moved the Ninpou Gamaguchi Shibari to move the mussels around the area Orochimaru was in. Quickly, a few mussels wrapped around a seemingly empty corner but a few hisses proved otherwise. Orochimaru faded into view and before Jiraiya's jutsu could restrain the hebi's hand's Orochimaru quickly made a few hand seals and a white flame burst out from his sides and cut through the frog's insides. Orochimaru jumped to the middle of the room once again, his eyes slanted in a glare towards Jiraiya.

"You've improved." Orochimaru hissed.

"You haven't." Jiraiya said with a smirk.

The Sennin braced himself as Orochimaru's expression flared up in anger and he suddenly began rapidly making seals once again. Jiraiya began to make hand seals of his own and soon both of them were sending Jutsu's flying towards each other. Orochimaru's jutsu flew from his mouth in the form of a snake bearing poisonous fangs and speeding towards Jiraiya who had sent a gust of extremely powerful wind hurling towards Orochimaru and the snake coming towards him. With a violent _crack _and a gust of wind the two forces collided and behind the two forces the two men glared at each other before fading into nothing but a blur of motion. Fists connected with fists and feet with feet, limbs with limbs as the two battled. This fight now though was for, as always, so much more than it seemed. While Jiraiya promised to help Kitsune with Naruto and Sasuke's problem Jiraiya still had his own in mind. Orochimaru had caused pain to many but Jiraiya had it the worst. Orochimaru had been a team mate, a companion, a friend. But that was lost… all was lost. And now only hate was left between the two. Orochimaru smirked twisted and turned and burned strait through Jiraiya because that smirk knew more than it let on. That smirk knew Jiraiya's fears and hopes and dreams, worries and cares. Jiraiya had once thought that he too knew everything about Orochimaru in return but now he saw that even in their childhood Orochimaru had been fake. Fake to the core and bitter through and through. It had all been _fake_… and Orochimaru had merely _used_ him to get farther along in the road of being a powerful ninja.

The back of Jiraiya's eyes seemed to burn and he willed himself to just for once forget the past. Memories of earlier days weren't going to help him win this fight… not this time. Not when Orochimaru was so distant even when they were only a few feet away from each other and trying to rip out the others throat.

Orochimaru saw Jiraiya begin to slip into thought and quickly took the opportunity to lash out. Jiraiya could only move at the last second and ended up with a large gash in his cheek. Orochimaru gave a sour smile and his eyes bore into Jiraiya's.

"You still can't beat me… you're too weak. You're hate is strong but it blinds you and it consumes you. You have no control over it. And not only that but…" Orochimaru leaned over until his mouth was by Jiraiya's ear, "You still can't get over me."

Jiraiya felt like he was falling backwards due to the closeness of Orochimaru's presence and soon saw Orochimaru's fist connect with his rib cage. Jiraiya grabbed Orochimaru's wrist trying to pull him into the punch and soften the blow but it didn't help much. Jiraiya felt his skin stinging and hissing around the certainly bruised flesh and he quickly threw a kick to Orochimaru's shin. The hebi quickly moved to one side and as Jiraiya's foot flew by he caught it and twisted Jiraiya's ankle away from himself causing Jiraiya to do a flip/spin type move and fly to the other side of the room. Orochimaru caught his breath as Jiraiya grunted in pain, trying to stand from the heap on the floor he'd now become. As Jiraiya tried to recover Orochimaru made a few more hand seals and held out his hands, fingers aimed towards Jiraiya and snakes shot from the tip of each finger. The snakes wrapped around Jiraiya and pinned him down to the ground so that he couldn't move.

"I told you… you still cannot beat me." Orochimaru snickered.

"But I can!" Tsunade yelled sending a punch clear across Orochimaru's snickering face.

Orochimaru choked as the punch connected with his jaw and stumbled backwards quite a few yards clutching his jaw in pain, "Bitch…" He murmured.

Tsunade flicked him off and fell into a fighting stance, "You might beat the Frog-Hermit here but you can't beat me."

"Such confidence." Orochimaru mocked.

"Try me."

Tsunade eyes widened as Orochimaru brought both his hands up to his face and with a loud and echoing _pop_ his jaw cracked back into place. He opened and closed his mouth a few times testing out the location it was in and almost cackled at the look on Tsunade's face. A look of horror and disbelief.

"Shall we?"

…xoxoxoxoxoxox…

Kabuto felt something in the air, something like pain but it wasn't heavy yet. He knew it was coming from Orochimaru. He could feel what Orochimaru felt; he knew when he needed help. It was just an instinct of sorts. Kabuto felt his power dropping and began to worry. Looking back to the three in front of him he told himself to calm down.

'_I shouldn't jump the gun. Orochimaru-sama gave me a mission._'

Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura were already for a fight and Kabuto smiled. He didn't really want to have to kill anyone but for Orochimaru he would. He mission was simply to watch them and if possible, get rid of the girl. But this was beginning to weigh too heavily on Kabuto's mind. He felt Orochimaru getting weaker again. He was being injured… this could only mean that either the demons had found him or perhaps the other Sannin. His attention was suddenly completely on Orochimaru and he looked back to the three ready to fight.

"Sorry but now is not the time." He quickly disappeared into a puff of smoke.

"What! Come back here coward!" Naruto yelled into the air at nothing in particular.

"Quick! I can still trace his chakra to the location that he's going!" Sakura said, "He's probably going to where Orochimaru is."

"Lead the way." Sasuke agreed.

…xoxoxoxoxoxox…

Orochimaru felt like he was fighting with one arm tied behind his back. She'd hit something in his nerve system that had temporarily numbed his arm. She could hit him almost as freely as she wanted at the moment. Even so, she wasn't doing him much harm, the worst she'd done was rendered his arm useless. It would probably be better within twenty minutes, he could hold her off that long at least… but then something he wasn't counting on yet again happened…

As Tsunade began to throw another punch towards his head a red and black blur cut in front of her and stopped her punch. Orochimaru looked over to the man holding back Tsunade's punch and his yellow eyes met with two blood red eyes filled with a strong hate.

"Go tend to Jiraiya."

"You're not ready to fight!" Tsunade said to the freshly healed Itachi.

"I'm fine. Jiraiya needs you more right now." Itachi said looking back to the struggling man not far behind them.

Tsunade wordlessly backed down and slipped over to help Jiraiya out of Orochimaru's jutsu. Itachi stood glaring at Orochimaru who showed no sign of fear (yet).

"You look quite angry Itachi-_san_…"

"Die." Orochimaru barely saw Itachi move as he appeared behind the hebi and took out a kunai slicing it across Orochimaru's arm.

Orochimaru jumped around quickly and faced Itachi. His heart rate began to speed up, Itachi's recovery had been quick… almost too quick. Yet here Itachi was as if nothing had happened to him within the last twenty-four hours. Itachi's eyes widened and the sharingan flared within his eyes. Orochimaru tired to look away quickly but instead fell into Itachi's Tsukuyomi. Orochimaru found himself in a world of black and red tied to a cross. Itachi stood in front of him.

"Starting now, you will be stabbed continuously for seventy two hours."

A blinding pain burst in Orochimaru's side before he felt into a agonizing darkness.

…xoxoxoxoxoxox…

Kabuto saw Orochimaru being looked down upon by Itachi before Orochimaru suddenly let out a scream.

'_Tsukuyomi…_' Kabuto thought as he began looking for ways to get Orochimaru out of there.

Itachi looked down to the struggling Orochimaru who had just came out of his 'trance'. Without even looking over to the doorway Itachi began to speak, "Don't think about trying to help him."

Kabuto's eyes widened and he backed away slightly. Itachi's foot lifted and came down with a swift blow to Orochimaru's ribcage sending him flying across to the opposite side of the room. Kabuto stayed back and began to think of running but stood his ground. Orochimaru lay almost motionless looking over to where Kabuto was 'hiding' in the shadows. In less than a second Itachi was behind Kabuto much like he'd done to Orochimaru and Itachi's foot connected with Kabuto's lower back sending him flying next to Orochimaru. Itachi stood in the doorway and watched as Kabuto carefully moved his back and half-crawled next to Orochimaru. Orochimaru muttered something to Kabuto and Kabuto dropped his head in what appeared to be shame.

"No one…" Itachi started, "is allowed to do what you did, Orochimaru."

Orochimaru quickly took his attention off Kabuto and back fully onto Itachi.

"Don't ever… _ever_ try to mess with an Uchiha. Understood, filth?"  
Orochimaru didn't say anything, instead he kept sneering up at Itachi through hate filled eyes. Itachi's foot lifted and crushed down on one of Orochimaru's kneecaps. Orochimaru let out another howl and struggled under the pressure of Itachi's foot.

"Understood?"

"..Y…Yes!" Orochimaru spat.

Itachi was about to throw the finishing blow when he suddenly heard and yell from down the hallway. Turning around and backing away slightly from Orochimaru, Itachi saw five familiar figures running down the hall towards the room he and the others were in.

"You made it." Itachi stated.

"Orochimaru was supposed to be my fight." Sasuke hissed.

"No need to get upset. You can still finish him if you must." Itachi said coldly stepping away from the snake.

"We weren't sure if you'd already finished Orochimaru… we couldn't find anyone and then suddenly these three came running down the hall!" Kitsune said from behind the three youngest.

Shukaku stood by her side and nodded in agreement, "They helped lead us here."

"Guess you didn't really need the help though, huh?" Kitsune said with a grin.

"Not especially."

As the group spoke Orochimaru stirred slightly and lifted up his arms just enough to make a few seals, before anyone could do anything something flew from Orochimaru's body and latched onto Naruto's chest. Naruto let out a blood turning scream. Everyone quickly turned to see something black and green burrowing into Naruto. Sasuke was the first to act; he ran to Naruto and tried to stop whatever it was from ripping through Naruto. Opening up Naruto's jacket they could see the blurb begin to almost _sink_ through Naruto's skin.

"It's useless. That thing will drive into Naruto's heart where you cannot get it out." Orochimaru said with a grin.

Naruto clutched his chest as the black blob disappeared under his skin. His face clenched in pain and he looked over to where Orochimaru sat laughing slightly.

"What did you do to him?" Sasuke yelled running over to Orochimaru and picking the hebi up by his collar.

"Why should I say?"

Sasuke's rage began to boil over and he slammed Orochimaru against the wall. Blood began to spill from the corner of Orochimaru's mouth and he only gave another twisted smile. Sakura was first to notice that blood spilt from Naruto's mouth at the same time it had Orochimaru's and Naruto seemed to be clutching his collar trying to tear something off; the same area of his collar as Orochimaru's that Sasuke was holding.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted.

"Not now…" Sasuke grumbled.

"Naruto is connected to Orochimaru!"

Sasuke stopped interrogating Orochimaru for a second to look back to where Naruto was clutching his collar. Sasuke's eyes widened and he dropped Orochimaru. Naruto suddenly clutched his throat as if he could breathe again.

Orochimaru coughed, "Too bad… if you'd held on for just a bit longer I would have died… and Naruto would have gone with me…"

Sasuke's eyes flickered between black and red until the Sharingan suddenly blazed up in his eyes, glowing a deep red.

'_How! How the hell am I supposed to save Naruto! This is… this is stupid! That snake! I should have seen it… I should have known!'_ Sasuke began to almost glow from the chakra emitting off him.

The room suddenly went dark, voices flared up from all sides but the voices faded and silence suddenly echoed around the darkness around Sasuke. What had happened? Sasuke looked around frantically in the darkness looking for Naruto but he didn't see anything. Suddenly a yellow-ish light came on and Sasuke found that they were still in the same room but this time it was only Naruto, Sasuke and a snickering Orochimaru.

"You two can't get away from me in here…" Orochimaru said.

"Naruto… I'm sorry." Sasuke said gently backing away from Orochimaru, his bangs covering his face.

"Sasuke, don't be…s-stupid." Naruto said quickly.

"I should have known! He's… I can't do anything to him without hurting you!"

"…Sasuke… what if… we just…" Naruto's eyes flickered down to the floor which suddenly began interesting to Naruto.

Sasuke froze, "Naruto don't be thinking what I think you're thinking! No!"

Sasuke ran to Naruto's side and grabbed Naruto's chin pulling it up to look in his eyes, "You're not going to die. Not because of _him_." Sasuke spat out the word like a child would do with bad food.

Orochimaru suddenly let out a chilling laugh, "How _sweet_… the Uchiha heir trying to save his _pet_."

"Shut up!" Sasuke turned back to Orochimaru and was about to go over and give the hebi a good kick when he suddenly remembered Naruto's condition, "Dammit… dammit… what am I going to do…?"

"There's nothing you can do! You can't save Naruto now…" Orochimaru said with a dark laugh.

Sasuke's eyes squeezed shut and the harshness of the truth in those words.

"Sasuke…?" Sasuke's eyes suddenly snapped open as he felt Naruto's hand around his wrist.

Sasuke turned to look into Naruto's eyes searching his questioning tone. Sasuke gently leaned in to capture Naruto's lips with his own, "I don't want to lose you… I can't… can't imagine a world without you…"

Naruto buried his head into the crook of Sasuke's neck and gently hugged Sasuke before pulling back softly.

"Live…" Before Sasuke could see what Naruto was doing a flash of grey metal sliced through the air and Naruto and Orochimaru let out a scream at the same time.

"NO! NARUTO!"

Blood flowed from the wound in Naruto's stomach and from the corners of Naruto's lips.

"Sasuke…" Naruto gave a weak smile as he saw the tears being held back in Sasuke's eyes.

"Why?" Sasuke asked.

"Damn you!" Orochimaru spat out towards Naruto, "Good for nothing brat!"

Sasuke ignored Orochimaru's curses and gently cradled Naruto's face searching for answers, "Why!"

"I had to… we both know… know it…"

"No! You didn't! We… Tsunade! She might have bee able to do… to do something! You didn't have to…!"

"Heh… guess I'm still just a dobe…"

"No… Naruto… don't leave me! Don't close your eyes! We can get find Tsunade and she'll make everything fine just don't… don't close your eyes! Hold on! Naruto!"

"I'm sorry… Sasuke… I love… you…"

"NARUTO!"

…xoxoxoxoxoxox…

The darkness suddenly faded. Kitsune looked through the darkness and Naruto and Sasuke appeared once again. Orochimaru lay still where he had been before. Somehow they'd been sucked into a dark space and the others hadn't been able to enter but now… Kitsune's heart froze as she saw Naruto lying in Sasuke's arms… Sasuke gently calling out Naruto's name over and over.

"No…" She gasped, "Naruto can't be…"

Every thing in the room stopped. Kitsune was oblivious to Tsunade gently trying to sooth Sasuke out of his slight 'coma' type state. Shukaku's voice was mute to her and she couldn't hear him trying to speak to her. All she could see and hear was the empty hollow heart inside Naruto's chest and the light that seemed to be gone from the face of the hyper-blond.

"Can't be… Naruto…"

Shukaku saw Kitsune's face go as white as a sheet and gently took her hand in his, "Kitsune… he's…"

There was a light squeeze on her hand but she didn't feel the comforting gesture. Tears began to pour from her eyes and she felt sobs churning in her body.

Naruto was dead.

She felt her foot move closer to the blond.

Dead… gone?

Another step.

Was he really…?

Another.

She knew there was no point in asking. How could it not be true? There was his body, still, empty, lifeless… gone.

Another…

She felt her self choking on her sobs now as they escaped through her lips. Kitsune fell beside where Sasuke sat, her eyes wide. She couldn't save another of her precious people. Tsunade was across from Kitsune, tears streaming down her face as well as she tried to somehow bring back Naruto though there was no such jutsu that Tsunade or anyone knew.

Kitsune looked into Tsunade's red crying face. It hit Kitsune in a second. She knew what she had to do. Naruto had so many that loved him… Kitsune knew that she had to… yes. It was the only way…

Kitsune stood up from the ground and moved to place Naruto's head in her lap.

"Everyone… please step away from him."

"Kitsune? What are you doing?" Shukaku asked in a hesitant tone.

She gave a sad smile and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I'm saving my precious person."

…xoxoxoxoxoxox…

"Naruto?"

Why was it so dark?

"Naruto?"  
Why was it so cold? Where was the light! The heat! What had just happened? Had… had Naruto not killed himself? But… was Orochimaru still alive?

"Naruto?"

"Who's calling me?"

"It's me, Naruto."

"… Kitsune?"

"Yep!"

A light suddenly filled the darkness. Kitsune appeared in an orange glowing light in front of Naruto. She smiled gently at him before pulling him into a tight hug.

"You can't die yet."

"But Orochimaru! He had to be killed!"

"He is dead… but I don't want you to die with him. I can… I can bring you back!" Kitsune said in a happy tone that sounded slightly forced.

"You can? How! Do you know a jutsu?" Naruto asked.

"Sort of…" Kitsune smiled, "But you need to trust me right now and no matter what… live… ok?"

'_That sounds like what I said to Sasuke but… why would Kitsune need to tell me that now? She's going to be seeing me in a few minutes when she performs the jutsu! Right!'_

"Kitsune? Wha-What do you mean! I'll be seeing you in a few seconds right? Kitsune!"

"I'll be with you… Naruto."

"KITSUNE!"

…xoxoxoxoxoxox…

A flash of light… it's all anyone could really remember. But Naruto remembered a flash of light, Kitsune's face, last words and a tight embrace. He woke up in a bright room, Naruto's hand in someone else's. He tried to sit up quickly, confused and alarmed but as soon as he sat up the pain that shot through his body knocked him back down.

"Itai!" He whined.

/ Baka! Don't do that! I can't heal you THAT fast yet/ Came a familiar voice from some where inside Naruto.

-…Kitsune?-

/ Yes kit, I'm here. I've been… sealed. Inside of you… now I'll never leave you alone! Hahaha/ Kitsune said in a joking tone.

-Demo… how?-

/ I'm too tired to explain, kit. Let me rest… /

-Kitsune?-

/ Nani/

-…. Thank you…-

/ You're welcome kit. Now you better be saying "sorry" to that leach on your hand. /

-Nani?-

Naruto looked down to see Sasuke holding on with a death grip to Naruto's hand and fast asleep. Naruto gave a grin and gently stroked Sasuke's hair.

-Ah… I will...-

End of Chapter 24

**End of Story**

OMGackt. I finished it! It's the end! PARTY! -dies-

I hope you guys liked this story x.x… _I still am going to do a short little 'after story' chapter_ which wont' be it's own story… just a chapter in here. Hopefully I'll get that up soonish. I start school tomorrow! Woo…

Umm… omg… I LOVE YOU ALL! You guys really helped me finish this and stay with it and –glomps- yesh. You are all special and I hope the ending wasn't too stupid . I feel like it might not be the best but I think it's the best I can do for now for you! Gomen nasai! Um, YES! Aahahahaha, I don't know what to say! Nyargh… review, tell me what you hated or loved or just tell me what a crappy job I did with the ending or praise me or throw confetti I don't care! I'm just kinda in a weird "OMG -spaz-" mood right now O.o… oh yeah… I'm not checking over it . sorry if there are a lot of grammar/spelling mistakes . .

-lurve-

Over and out!

Anukis


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